Probability Mass Function of a Discrete R.
Let X be a discrete random variable on a sample space S , which can take the values x1,
x2 , … such that P( X xi ) P( xi ) pi called the probability of xi . The number pi must
satisfy the following conditions:
(i) pi 0 for all i and (ii) pi 1
i
Distribution Function of the Discrete Random Variable
The distribution function or briefly the cumulative distribution function (c.d.f) for a
x
random variable X is defined by FX ( x) F ( x) P( X x) P( X xi ) where x is any
real number, that is, x .
1. A random variable X has the following probability function:
Values of X 0 1 2 3 4
3a 4a 6a 7a 8a
Probability P(x)
(i) Determine the value of a .
(ii) Find P( X 2) , P( X 3) , P(0 X 4) .
Solution: (i) We know that if P(x) is the probability mass function, then pi 1 .
i
Therefore, 3a 4a 6a 7a 8a 1
28a 1
1
a
28
Therefore, the probability distribution of X is
Values of X 0 1 2 3 4
3 4 6 7 8
Probability P(x) 28 28 28 28 28
3 4 6 13
(ii) Now, P( X 2) P( X 0) P( X 1) P( X 2) .
28 28 28 28
8
Now, P( X 3) P( X 4) .
28
4 6 7 17
Now, P(0 X 4) P( X 1) P( X 2) P( X 3) .
28 28 28 28
2. A random variable X has the following probability function:
Values of X -2 -1 0 1
0.4 k 0.2 0.3
Probability P(x)
(a) Determine the value of k . (b) Find P( X 1) .
(c) Find the distribution function of X . (d) Find the mean value of X .
Solution: (a) We know that if P(x) is the probability mass function, then pi 1 .
i
Therefore, 0.4 k 0.2 0.3 1
k 0.1
Therefore, the probability distribution of X is
Values of X -2 -1 0 1
0.4 0.1 0.2 0.3
Probability P(x)
(b) P( X 1) P( X 2) P( X 1) P( X 0) 0.4 0.1 0.2 0.7
(c)By definition, we know that the cumulative probability of X as F ( x) P( X x) .
Now, F (2) P( X 2) 0.4
F (1) P( X 1) P( X 2) P( X 1) 0.5
F (0) P( X 0) P( X 2) P( X 1) P( X 0) 0.7
F (1) P( X 1) P( X 2) P( X 1) P( X 0) P( X 1) 1.
n
(d) Mean X xi pi
i 1
(2 0.4) (1 0.1) (0 0.2) (1 0.3)
0.6
3. The monthly demand for Titan watches is known to have the following probability
function:
Demand 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
0.08 0.12 0.19 0.24 0.16 0.10 0.07 0.04
Probability
Determine the mean demand for watches and also compute the variance.
n
Solution: Mean demand for watches X xi pi
i 1
1 0.08 2 0.12 3 0.19 4 0.24
5 0.16 6 0.10 7 0.07 8 0.04
4.06