Mean and Variance of

Discrete Random
Variable
Lesson 1

MEAN OF DISCRETE
RANDOM VARIABLE
Activity 1: MY CHANCE!
Directions: Determine the chance or probability of having
the indicated outcome in the following events. Your answers
must be in fraction form.
1. The chance of getting 2 heads in tossing 2 coins.
2. The chance of getting an even number in rolling a die.
3. The chance of getting queen of hearts when a card is
drawn from a standard deck.
4. The chance of getting two red balls in a box containing 2
red and 2 blue balls when two balls are picked at a time
with replacement.
5. The probability of having three girls if a couple has 3
children.
If your answers are , , , and , then you did a
great start.

• Congratulations! Because determining the

probability of occurrence is one of the most
important steps in finding the mean of
discrete random variable.
Mean of Discrete Random
Variable
The mean of discrete random variable X is a
weighted average of the possible values that
the random variable can take. Unlike the
sample mean of a group of observations,
which gives each observation equal weight,
the mean of random variable weights each
outcome X, according to its possibility, P(X)
• (www.stat.yale.edu.rvmnvar).
Sample Problem 1
1. There are 4 balls in a box, 2 red and 2
yellow. Two balls are picked at a time.
a) What are the possible outcomes?
b) What is the probability of drawing a red ball?
c) What is the mean of the given discrete
random variable?
Answers:
a. The possible outcomes or sample space = (RR, RY, YR,
YY)
b. . No. of red
P(X)
balls (X)
0 ¼

1 2/4 or ½

2 ¼
c. To solve for the mean of the discrete random variable,
we use theformula
µ = P(X)

Where:
µ - mean of the discrete random variable
X - possible outcome
P(X) - the probability of the outcome
Sample Problem 2
The probability that a “balut” vendor can sell 3, 4, 5
baskets of “balut” per day are 0.30, 0.50, 0.20
respectively. Find the mean of the probability distribution.
No. of
baskets of P(X)
balut (X)
3 0.30

4 0.50

5 0.20
Seatwork (Performance #3)
1. During holiday season, the probability that a family spends
Php5 000, Php10 000, Php15 000 and Php20 000 are 0.4, 0.3,
0.2 and 0.1 respectively. Find the average probability of
expenditures of a family during the holiday season.
2. The given table below shows the probability that a delivery
truck driver encounters bad order (BO) every delivery. Find
the mean of the given probability distribution.
No. of Bad Probability
Orders (X) P(X)
1 1/10

2 2/10

3 4/10

4 1/10
5 2/10
Seatwork (Performance #3)
1. SOLUTION:
µ = P(X)
= 5000(.4) + 10,000(.3) + 15,000(.2) + 20,000(.1)
= 2000 + 3000 + 3000 + 2000
= 10,000

Means that during holiday season the average expenditures of

the family is 10,000
 Seatwork (Performance #3)
2. SOLUTION:
µ = P(X)
= 1() + 2() + 3() + 4() + 5()
=+++ +
=
= or 3.1 or 3
Means on the average a delivery truck driver encounters 3
bad order (BO) every delivery
Lesson 2

VARIANCE OF
DISCRETE RANDOM
VARIABLE
 Activity 1: Long Distance
Relationship
Directions: Describe the distance between the two objects.
1. From my house, I need to walk 5 blocks before I reach the
pavilion.
2. Our students need to walk 1 km from school in order to reach
the town plaza.
3. Tourists coming to San Juan, La Union need to travel 13.2 km
from town proper to reach the spectacular Tangadan Falls.
4. From Manila, you need to travel 282.6 km bound to Ilocos in
order to reach the “Surfing Capital of the North” - San Juan,
La Union.
5. Perseverance, NASA’s 2020 mission to planet Mars need to
travel 54 600 000 km from earth to reach its destination.
Variance of discrete random
variable
The variance of discrete random
variable is a measure of how much
the probability mass is spread out
around the center which is the
mean. (ocw.mit.edu>readings PDF)
Variance of discrete random
variable
The variance tells us how much we can expect the
results to deviate from the expected value. Thus, the
higher the variance, the farther away the result can be
from its expected value (Math Connections in the
Digital Age Statistics and Probability - 2016).
This implies that if the computed variance is high,
the scores are very much scattered around the mean.
On the contrary, if the computed variance is low, the
data are closely concentrated around the mean.
Variance of discrete random
variable
Sample Problem 1
The probabilities of LED light Corporation to produce 0, 1,
2, 3 and 4 defective lights in a day are 0.80, 0.10, 0.05,
0.03 and 0.02 respectively. Find the variance of the
distribution.

Solution:
First you need to solve the mean
µ = P(X)
= 0(0.80) + 1(0.10) + 2(0.05) + 3(0.03) + 4(0.02)
= 0.37
Sample Problem 1
Next, solve for the variance
= P(X)
= (0.1)+ (0.05)+ (0.03) + (0.02)
= 0.10952 + 0,0369 + 0.132845 + 0.207507 +
0.263538
= 0.75031 ≈ 0.75

So, the variance is 0.75. Since the variance is low, this

means that the probability of manufacturing defective LED
lights is close to the mean which is 0.37.
Sample Problem 2
The number of COVID - 19 patient admitted per day in a
Covid facility along with its corresponding probability is
shown on the table below. Solve and interpret the
variance of the data.
Number of Covid
Patient Admitted Probability P(X)
(X)

0 0.5

1 0.3

2 0.15

3 0.05
 Sample Problem 2
Step 2: Compute for the (X -µ)
Solution: Number of
Covid Probability
(X -µ)
Step 1: Solve the mean µ Patient P(X)
Admitted (X)
µ = P(X)
0 0.5 (0-0.75)= -0.75
µ = 0(.5) + 1(.3) + 2(.15) +
3(.05) 1 0.3 (1-0.75)= 0.25
= .75
2 0.15 (2-0.75)=1.25

3 0.05 (3-0.75)=2.25
Sample Problem 2
Step 3: Square (X - µ)
Number of
Covid Probability
(X -µ)
Patient P(X)
Admitted (X)
(0-0.75)= -
0 0.5 0.75
0.5625

(1-0.75)=
1 0.3 0.25
0.0625

2 0.15 (2-0.75)=1.25 1.5625

3 0.05 (3-0.75)=2.25 5.0625

 Sample Problem 2
• Step 4: Multiply and P(X)
Number of
Covid Probability
Patient Admitted P(X)
(X -µ) ∙ P(X)
(X)
(0-0.75)= -
0 0.5 0.75
0.5625 0.5625x0.5 = 0.28125

1 0.3 (1-0.75)= 0.25 0.0625 0.0625x0.3 = 0.01875

1.5625x0.15 =
2 0.15 (2-0.75)=1.25 1.5625
0.234375
5.0625x0.05 =
3 0.05 (3-0.75)=2.25 5.0625
Sample Problem 2
Step 5: get the sum of P(X)
=P(X)
= 0.28125 + 0.01875 + 0.234375 + 0.253125
= 0.7875 ≈ 0.79

So the variance is 0.79. Since the variance is low,

this means that the probability of admitting COVID
patient per day is close to the mean which is 0.75.
Steps in solving for the variance of discrete
random variable:
• Solve the mean µ
• Compute for (X -µ)
• Square
• Multiply P(X)
• Get the sum of P(X)
Seatwork (Performance #4)
1. Despite the pandemic, godparents still give cash gifts to their
godchildren amounting Php100, Php200, Php500 and Php1
000 with the following probabilities 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.1
respectively. Compute and interpret the variance of the given
data.
2. In retrieving the outputs of the learners in this Modular
Distance Learning, a senior high school teacher recorded the
following data. Compute and interpret the variance of the
random variable.
No. of students who did NOT
Probability P(X)
submit (X)
0 0.4
1 0.3
2 0.2
3 0.1