COMPUTING FOR MEAN

AND VARIANCE, AND

INTERPRETING MEAN AND
VARIANCE OF DISCRETE
RANDOM VARIABLES
OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, the learner

 
1. illustrates the mean and variance of a discrete random variable; and
2. calculates the mean and the variance of a discrete random variable.
3. interprets the mean and the variance of a discrete random variable; and
4. solves problems involving mean and variance of probability distributions.
REVIEW

What is a discrete random variable?

A random variable is a discrete random variable if its set

of possible outcomes is countable. It is represented by
count data.
MOTIVATION
■
Given:
 

Find:

= 2 + 3 + 5 + 7 = 17
2.
= 2 + 4 + 6 + 8 = 20
3.
= (2 + 2) + (3 + 4) + (5 + 6) + (7 + 8) = 37
4.
= (2 · 2) + (3 · 4) + (5 · 6) + (7 · 8) = 102
MEAN OF A
DISCRETE PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
■
The  mean of a random variable with a discrete probability distribution is given by
 

where
are the values of the random variable X; and
are the corresponding probabilities.
VARIANCE OF A
DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
■
The  variance of a discrete probability distribution is given by the formula:
 

where
= value of the random variable
= probability of the random variable X
= mean of the probability distribution
STANDARD DEVIATION OF A
DISCRETE PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTION
■
The  standard deviation of a discrete probability distribution is given by the formula:
 

where
= value of the random variable
= probability of the random variable X
= mean of the probability distribution
POINTS TO REMEMBER
■ Mean is also called as the expected value. The mean represents the
theoretical average of the all the outcomes in an event, after multiple
times of execution.
■ Variance and Standard Deviation are both measures of variability. They
describe the amount of spread, dispersion or variability of the items in a
distribution from the mean.
■ Variance represents the squared average distance of all outcomes from
the mean, while standard deviation is the average distance of all
outcomes from the mean.
■ The smaller the value of the variance and the standard deviation denotes
that the items of a distribution are closer from the mean.
■ Mean, Variance and Standard Deviation are descriptive. They do not
suggest any conclusion.
CALCULATING THE MEAN
EXAMPLE 1: Using example 1 of the previous session, find the mean number of tails after
tossing the coin three times.
Step 1: Identify the probability  Step 2: Multiply the value of the random variable by
the corresponding probability . In this case, the step
distribution of the random variable. may be represented as .

NUMBER OF PROBABILITY NUMBER PROBABILI

TAILS (Y) (Y) OF TAILS TY
0 (Y) (Y)
1 0 0
12
11
3
2 2
2
3
3 3

 Step 3: Find the sum of or . In this case, the step  

The mean number of tails after tossing the coin three
may be represented as
times is 1.5.
CALCULATING THE VARIANCE AND STANDARD DEVIATION
EXAMPLE 1: Using example 1 of the previous session, find the variance of the number of
tails after tossing the coin three times.
Step 1: Find the mean of the probability Step 3: Square the differences of the
distribution   results in step 2
Step 2: Get the difference between the
value of the random variable and the
mean
Y P(Y) Y P(Y) (Y - )2

0 0 – 1.5 = – 1.5 0 – 1.5 2.25

11 11 –– 1.5 11 0.25
1.5 =
= –– 0.5
0.5 –– 0.5
0.5 0.25
2 2 – 1.5 = 0.5 2 0.5 0.25
2 2
2 – 1.5 = 0.5 0.5 0.25
3 3 – 1.5 = 1.5 3 1.5 2.25
3 3
3 – 1.5 = 1.5 1.5 2.25
CALCULATING THE VARIANCE
EXAMPLE 1: Using example 1 of the previous session, find the variance of the number of
tails after tossing the coin three times.
Step 4: Multiply the squares in step 3 with their corresponding probabilities.

Y P(Y) (Y - )2 (Y - )2 · P(Y)

0 – 1.5 2.25 0.28125

11 –– 0.5 0.25 0.09375
0.5 0.25 0.09375
2 0.5 0.25 0.09375
2
0.5 0.25 0.09375
3 1.5 2.25 0.28125
3
1.5 2.25 0.28125

Step 5: Get the sum of the products in step 4

   
The variance of the number of tails when a coin is tossed three times is 0.75.
CALCULATING THE STANDARD DEVIATION
EXAMPLE 1: Using example 1 of the previous session, find the standard deviation and tell
what does the mean, variance and standard deviation imply.
The standard deviation is the square root of the variance.

Y P(Y) (Y - )2 (Y - )2 · P(Y)

0 – 1.5 2.25 0.28125

11 –– 0.5 0.25 0.09375
0.5 0.25 0.09375
2 0.5 0.25 0.09375
2
0.5 0.25 0.09375
3 1.5 2.25 0.28125
3
1.5 2.25 0.28125

 
The probability distribution of the number of tails after tossing a coin three times has the mean,
variance and standard deviation of 1.5, 0.75 and 0.87 respectively. The results show that it is
expected that the average outcome of all the tosses will be 1.5 tails. In addition, the number of tails
are near to the mean as indicated by the variance and standard deviation.
Example 2: A dentist may operate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 patients in a day with probabilities of
0.39, 0.23, 0.17, 0.10, 0.07 and 0.04 respectively. Find the average number of patients that a
dentist operates on a day, variance, and standard deviation and tell what these values
denote.

Number of Probability
X · P(X) X- (X - )2 (X - )2 · P(X)
Patients X P(X)
11 0.39
0.39 0.39
0.39 -- 1.35
1.35 1.8225
1.8225 0.710775
0.710775
22 0.23
0.23 0.46
0.46 -- 0.35
0.35 0.1225
0.1225 0.028175
0.028175
33 0.17
0.17 0.51
0.51 0.65
0.65 0.4225
0.4225 0.071825
0.071825
44 0.10
0.10 0.40
0.40 1.65
1.65 2.7225
2.7225 0.272250
0.272250
5 0.07 0.35 2.65 7.0225 0.491575
5 0.07 0.35 2.65 7.0225 0.491575
6 0.04 0.24 3.65 13.3225 0.532900
6 0.04 0.24 3.65 13.3225 0.532900
 
Mean:
Variance:
Standard Deviation:

The mean number of patients that a dentist operates in a day is 2.35. This imply that 2.35 patients
are expected to be operated per day. The results also show a variance of 2.11 and a standard
deviation of 1.45, these indicate that the number of patients operated in a day is close to the mean.
Seatwork: The class will be divided into two groups. Solve for the mean, variance, and
standard deviation of the problems below. After which, tell what these values imply.

a. The probabilities of a machine manufacturing 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 defective parts in one day are

0.75, 0.17, 0.04, 0.025, 0.01, and 0.005 respectively.

b. The number of inquiries received per day by the Office of Admissions in a certain university
is shown below.
X P(X)
22 0.08
23 0.19
24 0.36
25 0.25
26 0.07
27 0.05
Seatwork: The class will be divided into two groups. Solve for the mean, variance, and
standard deviation of the problems below. After which, tell what these values imply.
Answer for a.
X P(X) X · P(X) X- (X - )2 (X - )2 · P(X)
0 0.75 0.00 - 0.39 0.1521 0.114075
11 0.17
0.17 0.17
0.17 0.61
0.61 0.3721
0.3721 0.063257
0.063257
22 0.04
0.04 0.08
0.08 1.61
1.61 2.5921
2.5921 0.103684
0.103684
33 0.025
0.025 0.075
0.075 2.61
2.61 6.8121
6.8121 0.1703025
0.1703025
44 0.01
0.01 0.04
0.04 3.61
3.61 13.0321
13.0321 0.130321
0.130321
5 0.005 0.025 4.61 21.2521 0.1062605
5   0.005   0.025 4.61 21.2521 0.1062605
 

μ = 0.39 = 0.69 σ = 0.83

A mean of 0.39 indicates that it is expected that the machine will manufacture 0.39 defective parts
on any day. A variance of 0.69 and standard deviation of 0.83 signifies that the number of defective
parts manufactured in any day is not too far from the mean.
Seatwork: The class will be divided into two groups. Solve for the mean, variance, and
standard deviation of the problems below. After which, tell what these values imply.
Answer for b.
X P(X) X · P(X) X– (X - )2 (X - )2 · P(X)
22 0.08 1.76 – 2.19 4.7961 0.383688
23 0.19 4.37 – 1.19 1.4161 0.269059
24 0.36 8.64 – 0.19 0.0361 0.012996
25 0.25 6.25 0.81 0.6561 0.164025
26 0.07 1.82 1.81 3.2761 0.229327
27 0.05     1.35 2.81 7.8961 0.394805
 

= 24.19 = 1.45 = 1.20

 24.19 inquiries are expected by the Office of Admission in any day as suggested by the
mean. The number of inquiries is not too far from mean since the set of data has 1.45 and
1.20 as its variance and standard deviation correspondingly.
 “IF I HAD AN HOUR TO SOLVE A
PROBLEM I'D SPEND 55 MINUTES
THINKING ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND
5 MINUTES THINKING ABOUT
SOLUTIONS.”
- ALBERT EINSTEIN -

Prepare for a quiz next meeting.