Random Variable and Its Support

RANDOM VARIABLE:

Random variable
- it is a variable that assigns a numerical value to each outcome of a
random experiment.
- it is typically denoted by capital letters (ex.: X, M, N) and their specific
values are denoted by small letters (ex.: x, m, n).

• The support/sample space of a random variable is the set of all its possible
values.
Example 1: Consider the first experiment in the “Getting Ready Activity”.

Experiment: “tossing a coin twice”

Random Variable: X = no. of heads that turn up

Possible Outcomes x (no. of heads)  

HH 2 (two heads turn up)

HT 1 (one head turns up)
TH 1 (one head turns up)
TT 0 (no head turns up)

Support/Sample Space: X = {0, 1, 2} – there are three (3) possible values of X.

Example 2: Consider the second experiment in the “Getting Ready Activity”.

Experiment: “tossing a coin thrice”

Random Variable: X = no. of tails that turn up

Possible Outcomes HHH HHT HTH HTT THH THT TTH TTT

x (no. of tails) 0 1 1  2  1  2  2 3 
on tw on tw th
no e on o( e o( tw re
t ai l (1 e 2) (1 2) o( e
)t (1 )t 2) (3
tu ail )t tai ai l t ai tai )t
rn tu ail l st tu ls ls a il
u p rn tu ur rn tur tur st
up rn nu up nu nu ur
up p p nu
p p

Support/Sample Space: X = {0, 1, 2, 3} – there are four (4) possible values of X.

Example 3:
Experiment: “rolling a number cube”
Random Variable: X = the number that turns up

Possible Outcomes “1” “2” “3” “4” “5” “6”

x (the number) 1 2 3  4   5 6 

Support/Sample Space: X = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} – there are six (6) possible values of X.

Example 4:
A fair roulette wheel contains 30 numbers: 15 are blue, 10 are green, and 5 are yellow. You win Php 300 if the
roulette lands on a blue number; you lose Php 200 if the roulette lands on a green number; and you lose Php 100
if the roulette lands on a yellow number.
Experiment: “spinning the roulette wheel”
Random Variable: X = the amount (in Php) a player can win or lose
15 blue numbers 10 green numbers 5 yellow numbers

Possible Outcomes B1 B2 … B15 G1 G2 … G10 Y1 Y2 … Y5

x (amt. of money) 300 300  

300  
300  
-200  
-200 -200 -200 -100 -100 -100 -100

Support/Sample Space: X = {-200, -100, 300} – there are three (3) possible values of X.
The negative sign on -100 and -200 means “loss” of money..
Example 5:
Determine the support/sample space of the following random variable.

a) The number of green balls (G) drawn if 3 balls are drawn from a box which contains 4 red,
5 green, and 2 yellow balls.

Support/Sample Space: G = {0, 1, 2, 3}. Since 3 balls are drawn, there can be 0, 1, 2,
or 3 green balls drawn.
b) The number of defective units (D) selected when five units are chosen at random from a
batch of ten flash drives which contains four defective items.

Support/Sample Space: D = {0, 1, 2, 3, 4}. Even though 5 balls are randomly chosen, there can only be
0, 1, 2, 3 or 4 defective units because there are only 4
defective items out of ten.
TYPES OF RANDOM VARIABLE
Generally, there are two types/categories of random variables, the discrete random
variable and continuous random variable. The random variables given in the previous
examples are all examples of discrete random variable.
• A discrete random variable is a variable that can only take a finite/countable number
of distinct values.
• A continuous random variable is a variable is that can assume an infinite number of
values in an interval between two specific values. This means that the values can be
represented by decimals or fractions.
• Oftentimes, the values of a discrete random variable can be obtained by counting while
the values of continuous random variable can be obtained by measuring.
EXAMPLES OF DISCRETE RANDOM
VARIABLE:
A = the number of children in a family
B = the number of COVID positive cases in La COUNTABLE
Union in a day.
C = the number of typhoons that enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility in
a year.
D = the number of customers who enter a department store in a minute.
E = the number of birds in a nest.
F = the number of points scored in the last season by a randomly selected
basketball player.
EXAMPLES OF CONTINUOUS RANDOM
VARIABLE:
M = the height of a randomly selected students inside the
library. MEASURABL
E
N = the time it takes a student to complete one module in Statistics and
Probability.
P = the weight of a randomly selected dancers after taking up aerobics.
Q = the temperature of the City of San Fernando in a day.
R = the amount of rainfall in La Union in a year.
S = the actual volume of soft drink in a can marked 300 ml.