WORKSHEET 1 IN STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
Discrete Probability Distribution
Name: _____________________________________ Grade & Section: __________ Date: ___________ Score: _______
In items 1 and 5, decide whether the data represents a discrete or continuous random variable.
____________ 1. The number of hours spent sleeping each day.
____________ 2. The number of fish caught during a fishing tournament.
____________ 3. The number of pumps in use at a gas station.
____________ 4. The weight of a truck at a weigh station.
____________ 5. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from a car’s tailpipe each day.
In items 6-10, decide whether the distribution is a discrete probability distribution. If it is not, identify the
property/characteristics that is not satisfied.
6. The daily limit for catching bass at a lake is four. The random variable 𝑥 represents the number of fish caught in a day.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
7. The random variable 𝑥 represents the number of tickets a police officer writes out each shift.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
8. A greeting card shop keeps records of cutomers’ buying habits. The random variable 𝑥 represents the number of cards
sold to an individual customer in a shopping visit.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
9. The random variable x represents the number of classes in which a student is enrolled in a given semester at a
university.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
10. A local pub has a chicken wing special on Tuesdays. The pub owners purchase wings in cases of 300. The random
variable x represents the number of cases used during the special.
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
____________________________________________
In items 11-15,
(a) Use the frequency distribution to construct a probability distribution,
(b) graph the probability distribution using a histogram and describe its shape,
(c) find the mean, variance, and standard deviation of the probability distribution, and
(d) interpret the results in the context of the real-life situation.
11. The number of pages in a section from 10 statistics texts.
Pages, 𝑥 Sections 𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥−𝜇 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
2 3
3 12
4 72
5 115
6 169
7 120
8 83
9 48
10 22
11 6
𝜎 2 = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Total
𝜎 = √𝜎 2 = √∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Conclusion: _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. The number of hits per games played by a baseball player during a recent season.
Hits, 𝑥 Games 𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥−𝜇 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
0 29
1 62
2 33
3 12
4 3
5 1
𝜎 2 = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Total
𝜎 = √𝜎 2 = √∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Conclusion: _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
13. The distribution of the number of cellular phones per household in a small town is given.
Cellphones, 𝑥 Families 𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥−𝜇 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
0 5
1 35
2 68
3 73
4 42
5 19
6 8
𝜎 2 = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Total
𝜎 = √𝜎 2 = √∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Conclusion: _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
14. A television station sells advertising in 15-, 30-, 60-, 90-, and 120-second blocks. The distribution of sales for 24-hour
day is given.
Length (in
Sections 𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥−𝜇 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
seconds), 𝑥
15 76
30 445
60 30
90 3
120 12
𝜎 2 = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Total
𝜎 = √𝜎 2 = √∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Conclusion: _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. The number of dogs per household in a small town.
Dogs, 𝑥 Households 𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥𝑃(𝑥) 𝑥−𝜇 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 (𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
0 1491
1 425
2 168
3 48
4 29
5 14
𝜎 2 = ∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Total
𝜎 = √𝜎 2 = √∑(𝑥 − 𝜇)2 ∙ 𝑃(𝑥)
Conclusion: _______________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
