Formula 1:
The Probability of the occurrence of an event E is defined as:
[latex]P(E)[/latex] = [latex]\frac{(No. \ of \ ways \ E \ can \ occur)}{(Total \ no. \ of \ possible \ outcomes)}[/latex]
Example 1:
When a single die is rolled, the sample space is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. What is the probability of rolling a 5 when a die is rolled?
Solution:
No. of ways it can occur = 1
Total no. of possible outcomes = 6
So the probability of rolling a particular number when a die is rolled = [latex]\frac{1}{6}[/latex].
Example 2:
An unbiased diw is tossed. Find the probability of getting a multiple of 3.
Solution:
Here Sample Space (S) = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
Let E be the event of getting a multiple of 3.
Then, E = {3, 6}
Therefore, [latex]P(E)[/latex] = [latex]\frac{(No. \ of \ ways \ E \ can \ occur)}{(Total \ no. \ of \ possible \ outcomes)}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{2}{6}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{1}{3}[/latex].
Example 3:
In a simultaneous throw of a pair of dice, ind the probability of getting a total more than 7.
Solution:
Here, total number of posiible outcomes = 6 x 6 = 36.
Let E = Event of getting a total more than 7
= {(2, 6), (3, 5), (3, 6), (4, 4), (4, 5), (4, 6), (5, 3), (5, 4), (5, 5), (5, 6), (6, 2), (6, 3), (6, 4), (6, 5), (6, 6)}.
Therefore, P(E) = [latex]\frac{15}{36}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{5}{12}[/latex].
Compound probability:
Compound probability is when the problem statement asks for the likelihood of the occurrence of more than one outcome.
Formula 2:
[latex]P(A \ or \ B)[/latex] = [latex]P(A)[/latex] + [latex]P(B)[/latex] – [latex]P(A \ and \ B)[/latex]
Where [latex]A[/latex] and [latex]B[/latex] are any two events.
[latex]P(A \ or \ B)[/latex] is the probability of the occurrence of atleast one of the events.
[latex]P(A \ and \ B)[/latex] is the probability of the occurrence of both [latex]A[/latex] and [latex]B[/latex] at the same time.
Mutually exclusive events:
When two events cannot occur at the same time, they are considered mutually exclusive.
Note:
For a mutually exclusive event, P(A and B) = 0.
Example 1:
Consider the example of finding the probability of selecting a black card or a 6 from a deck of 52 cards.
Solution:
We need to find out [latex]P(B \ or \ 6)[/latex]
Probability of selecting a black card = [latex]\frac{26}{52}[/latex]
Probability of selecting a 6 = [latex]\frac{4}{52}[/latex]
Probability of selecting both a black card and a 6 = [latex]\frac{2}{52}[/latex]
[latex]P(B \ or \ 6)[/latex] = [latex]P(B)[/latex] + [latex]P(6)[/latex] – [latex]P(B \ and \ 6)[/latex]
Example 2:
What is the probability of getting a 2 or a 5 when a die is rolled?
Solution:
Taking the individual probabilities of each number, getting a [latex]2[/latex] is [latex]\frac{1}{6}[/latex] and so is getting a [latex]5[/latex].
Applying the formula of compound probability,
Probability of getting a [latex]2[/latex] or a [latex]5[/latex],
[latex]P(2 \ or \ 5)[/latex] = [latex]P(2)[/latex] + [latex]P(5)[/latex] – [latex]P(2 \ and \ 5)[/latex]
=> [latex]\frac{1}{6}[/latex] + [latex]\frac{1}{6}[/latex] – 0
=> [latex]\frac{2}{6}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{1}{3}[/latex].
Conditional probability:
Conditional probability is calculating the probability of an event given that another event has already occured.
Formula 2:
The formula for conditional probability [latex]P(A|B)[/latex], read as [latex]P(A \ given \ B)[/latex] is:
[latex]P(A|B)[/latex] =[latex]\frac{P(A \ and \ B)}{P(B)}[/latex]
Example:
In a class, [latex]40%[/latex] of the students study math and science. [latex]60%[/latex] of the students study math. What is the probability of a student studying science given he/she is already studying math?
Solution:
[latex]P(M \ and \ S)[/latex] = 0.40
[latex]P(M)[/latex] = 0.60
[latex]P(S|M)[/latex] = [latex]\frac{P(M \ and \ S)}{P(S)}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{0.40}{0.60}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{2}{3}[/latex] = 0.67
Complement of an event:
A complement of an event [latex]A[/latex] can be stated as that which does NOT contain the occurrence of [latex]A[/latex].
A complement of an event is denoted as [latex]P(A^{c})[/latex] or [latex]P(A’)[/latex].
Formula 3:
[latex]P(A^{c})[/latex] = 1 - [latex]P(A)[/latex]
or it can be stated, [latex]P(A)[/latex] + [latex]P(A^{c})[/latex] = 1
Example:
A single coin is tossed 5 times. What is the probability of getting at least one head?
Solution:
Consider solving this using complement.
Probability of getting no head = [latex]P[/latex](all tails) = [latex]\frac{1}{32}[/latex]
[latex]P[/latex](at least one head) = 1 – [latex]P[/latex](all tails) = 1 - [latex]\frac{1}{32}[/latex] = [latex]\frac{31}{32}[/latex]