A random variable X is a number assigned to every outcome of an experiment.
The probability of the event X=x is denoted as PX(x) or PX(X=x).
PX(x) is often called the probability mass (or density function) or the probability distribution for X.
It follows that and .
Example:
Outcome | Random variable X | PX(X=x) |
head | 0 | PX(0) = 1/2 |
tail | 1 | PX(1) = 1/2 |