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Probability · Probability

Probability Concepts

Before the game starts, Jayden's team flips a coin. Heads or tails? You can't know for sure. Will it rain on Saturday? Will your next pack of trading cards have the rare one? Nobody can predict a single result, but you can say how likely each one is. That is what probability does. First you need its vocabulary and a few tools for counting and comparing.

Random Experiments and Sample Spaces

Sample space of a six-sided die showing all six outcomes, 1 through 6. S (sample space of a die)
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Classify the following experiments as random or deterministic, briefly justifying your answer in each case: a) Observing if the next bus that passes by the stop in front…

Classify the following experiments as random or deterministic, briefly justifying your answer in each case:

  1. a) Observing if the next bus that passes by the stop in front of the school is from line 5.
  2. b) Measuring the time it takes for an object to fall to the ground from a height of 2 feet in a vacuum.
  3. c) Predicting the winner of the next Christmas lottery draw.
  4. d) Calculating the cost of 3 pounds of apples if we know that the price is $1,50 \text{ \$/lb}$.
Solve

Events

An event is any collection of outcomes from the sample space. "Roll an even number" is the event $\{2, 4, 6\}$.

Event What it is Example with a die
Elementary (simple) Exactly one outcome "roll a 3" $= \{3\}$
Compound Two or more outcomes "roll an even number" $= \{2, 4, 6\}$
Certain Always happens ($= S$) "roll less than 7"
Impossible Never happens (no outcomes, $\varnothing$) "roll an 8"

When an event says "or", list every outcome that fits at least one condition, and write each outcome only once.

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We are playing with a spinner divided into eight equal sectors, numbered from 1 to 8. Write the sample space $E$ of this experiment and describe the elements of the…

We are playing with a spinner divided into eight equal sectors, numbered from 1 to 8. Write the sample space $E$ of this experiment and describe the elements of the following events:

  1. a) $A =$ "Obtaining a number greater than 5".
  2. b) $B =$ "Obtaining an even number".
  3. c) $C =$ "Obtaining a multiple of 3".
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Solve
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A lottery drum contains balls numbered from 1 to 20. If we draw a ball at random, classify the following events as elementary or compound: a) $S_1 =$ {getting the number…

A lottery drum contains balls numbered from 1 to 20. If we draw a ball at random, classify the following events as elementary or compound:

  1. a) $S_1 =$ {getting the number 13}.
  2. b) $S_2 =$ {getting a prime number less than 10}.
  3. c) $S_3 =$ {getting a multiple of 7}.
  4. d) $S_4 =$ {getting the largest even number in the bag}.
Solve
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On your cell phone you have installed 3 social media apps, 2 gaming apps, and 1 music app. When you receive a notification, it can come from any of these apps with the…

On your cell phone you have installed 3 social media apps, 2 gaming apps, and 1 music app. When you receive a notification, it can come from any of these apps with the same probability.

  1. a) Define the sample space $E$ of this random experiment.
  2. b) Describe the event $A$ = "The notification is not from a social media app".
  3. c) Write an impossible event related to this context.
1 Notification S₁ S₂ S₃ J₁ J₂ M₁ Sample Space (E) Total: 6 apps 3 Social Media {S₁, S₂, S₃} 2 Games {J₁, J₂} 1 Music {M₁} Event A
Solve

Theoretical Probability

How likely is an event? Probability measures that with a number from $0$ to $1$.

A number line from 0 to 1 showing the words impossible, unlikely, equally likely, likely, and certain. impossible unlikely 50-50 likely certain 0 1/2 1

Why does this work? If every outcome has the same chance, each one gets an equal share of the total, and the event gets as many shares as it has outcomes.

Try it with a bag of marbles. Change the numbers and see how the chances change.

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In a sports bag, there are 4 red shirts, 3 blue shirts, and 1 white shirt. If we take out a shirt without looking, indicate which of the following options best describes…

In a sports bag, there are 4 red shirts, 3 blue shirts, and 1 white shirt. If we take out a shirt without looking, indicate which of the following options best describes the probability of each event (use the terms: very likely, unlikely, impossible, certain):

  1. a) Taking out a green shirt.
  2. b) Taking out a shirt that is not white.
  3. c) Taking out a red, blue, or white shirt.
  4. d) Taking out a blue shirt.
Solve
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In a fantasy trading card game, a deck contains the following cards: 8 "Warrior" type, 6 "Mage" type, 4 "Elf" type, and 2 "Dragon" type. If you draw a card at random,…

In a fantasy trading card game, a deck contains the following cards: 8 "Warrior" type, 6 "Mage" type, 4 "Elf" type, and 2 "Dragon" type. If you draw a card at random, calculate the probability that:

  1. a) It is a "Mage".
  2. b) It is a "Warrior" or an "Elf".
  3. c) It is not a "Dragon".
Solve
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At a technology fair, there is a spinner divided into 12 equal sectors numbered from 1 to 12. The game consists of spinning the spinner and observing the winning number.…

At a technology fair, there is a spinner divided into 12 equal sectors numbered from 1 to 12. The game consists of spinning the spinner and observing the winning number.

  1. a) Find the probability of obtaining a prime number.
  2. b) Find the probability of obtaining a number greater than 4 and less than 9.
  3. c) If we win a prize if a multiple of 3 or an odd number comes up, what is the probability of winning?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Solve

Complementary Events

The complement of an event $A$, written $\bar{A}$ (or "not $A$"), is every outcome in $S$ that is not in $A$.

The sample space of a die split into two complementary events: even numbers and odd numbers. A = even{2, 4, 6} not A = odd{1, 3, 5} An event and its complement share out the whole sample space

An event and its complement together cover all of $S$, so their probabilities add up to 1.

This is handy when "not $A$" is easier to find than $A$. For a die, $P(\text{roll a 6}) = \dfrac{1}{6}$, so $P(\text{not a 6}) = 1 - \dfrac{1}{6} = \dfrac{5}{6}$.

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We consider the random experiment of choosing a letter at random from the word MATEMATICAS. Define the following concepts associated with this experiment: a) The sample…

We consider the random experiment of choosing a letter at random from the word MATEMATICAS. Define the following concepts associated with this experiment:

  1. a) The sample space $E$.
  2. b) The event $V =$ "Choosing a vowel".
  3. c) The event $C =$ "Choosing a consonant".
  4. d) Check if $V$ and $C$ are complementary events.
Solve
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A die has its faces painted in colors: 3 faces are red, 2 are green, and 1 is yellow. If we roll the die: a) What is the probability of "obtaining the color red"?…

A die has its faces painted in colors: 3 faces are red, 2 are green, and 1 is yellow. If we roll the die:

  1. a) What is the probability of "obtaining the color red"? Express the result as a fraction.
  2. b) What is the probability of "not obtaining the color red"?
  3. c) What is the technical name for the event in section b) with respect to the one in section a)?
Solve

Unions, Intersections, and Venn Diagrams

With two events $A$ and $B$:

  • Union $A \cup B$: $A$ or $B$ happens (or both).

  • Intersection $A \cap B$: $A$ and $B$ happen at the same time.

  • If $A \cap B$ has no outcomes, the events are mutually exclusive: they can't happen together. (Some problems call events that can happen together compatible and mutually exclusive events incompatible.)

Venn diagram of the events even number and greater than 3 on a die, with their overlap 4 and 6. A = evenB = > 3 2465 13 S A ∩ B = {4, 6}

With a die, $A = \{2, 4, 6\}$ and $B = \{4, 5, 6\}$. Then $A \cup B = \{2, 4, 5, 6\}$ and $A \cap B = \{4, 6\}$.

Cards give another nice overlap. A standard US deck has 52 cards in 4 suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades) of 13 cards each. Every suit contains exactly one King, so "draw a King" and "draw a heart" overlap in exactly one card: the King of hearts. That is true in any deck that has one King per suit, whatever the suits are called and however many cards the deck has.

A Venn diagram helps you count. Fill in the overlap first, then subtract it from each circle.

Venn diagram with 19 students who play only basketball, 6 who play both sports, 9 who play only soccer, and 6 who play neither. BasketballSoccer 1969 Neither: 6 S
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A card is drawn at random from a 40-card Spanish deck. Given the events $A =$ "Drawing a King" and $B =$ "Drawing a card of Coins", indicate: a) Are events $A$ and $B$…

A card is drawn at random from a 40-card Spanish deck. Given the events $A =$ "Drawing a King" and $B =$ "Drawing a card of Coins", indicate:

  1. a) Are events $A$ and $B$ compatible or incompatible? Why?
  2. b) What is the intersection event $A \cap B$?
  3. c) Describe the union event $A \cup B$ in words.
E (40 cards) A Kings B Coins King of Coins A ∩ B
Solve
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A survey is carried out among the 30 students in a class about their streaming preferences. It is known that 18 students watch Netflix ($N$), 12 watch Disney+ ($D$), and…

A survey is carried out among the 30 students in a class about their streaming preferences. It is known that 18 students watch Netflix ($N$), 12 watch Disney+ ($D$), and 5 students watch both platforms. If we choose a student at random:

  1. a) Use a Venn diagram to represent the situation.
  2. b) Calculate the probability that the student watches only Netflix.
  3. c) Calculate the probability that the student watches neither of the two platforms (complementary event to the union).
Total = 30 Netflix (N) Disney+ (D) 13 Only N 5 Both 7 Only D 5 Neither
Solve

The Addition Rule

To find the probability of $A$ or $B$, add the two probabilities. But if the events overlap, the overlap gets counted twice, so subtract it once.

Sometimes you know the "neither" part instead. Use the complement: $P(A \cup B) = 1 - P(\text{neither})$. Then the addition rule, rearranged, gives the overlap.

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We consider the random experiment of rolling two six-sided dice and adding their scores. Let the events be: $A$ = "The sum is an even number". $B$ = "The sum is a…

We consider the random experiment of rolling two six-sided dice and adding their scores. Let the events be:

  • $A$ = "The sum is an even number".

  • $B$ = "The sum is a multiple of 5".

  1. a) Calculate $P(A)$ and $P(B)$.
  2. b) Are the events $A$ and $B$ compatible or incompatible? Justify your answer by finding the elements of $A \cap B$.
  3. c) Calculate the probability of the union $P(A \cup B)$.
Solve
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In a middle school in Chicago, $60\%$ of 8th-grade students use the platform Twitch*, $50\%$ use TikTok* and $20\%$ use neither of the two. If we choose a student at…

In a middle school in Chicago, $60\%$ of 8th-grade students use the platform Twitch, $50\%$ use TikTok and $20\%$ use neither of the two. If we choose a student at random, calculate the probability of the following events:

  1. a) They use both platforms.
  1. b) They use TikTok but not Twitch.
  1. c) Are the events "Using Twitch" and "Using TikTok" mutually exclusive? Justify your answer using the probability values.
Sample space (100%) Twitch 60% TikTok 50% Neither: 20% ? ? ?
Solve

Counting with Tree Diagrams and Tables

When an experiment has several stages (flip two coins, pick a hoodie and then pants), a tree diagram shows every outcome so none gets missed.

Tree diagram with two levels showing the four possible results of flipping two coins. HT HTHT HHHTTHTT 1st flip2nd flip

With two coins, $S = \{HH, HT, TH, TT\}$: 4 outcomes. Notice that $HT$ and $TH$ are different outcomes.

For two dice, a $6 \times 6$ table lists all 36 outcomes. Here are the sums:

+ 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The reason is that each of the $m$ first choices can be followed by any of the $n$ second choices, so the tree has $m$ groups of $n$ branches.

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Two coins are flipped and the result is recorded (H for Heads, T for Tails). a) Use a tree diagram to find all the possible results. b) Write the sample space of the…

Two coins are flipped and the result is recorded (H for Heads, T for Tails).

  1. a) Use a tree diagram to find all the possible results.
  2. b) Write the sample space of the experiment.
  3. c) What is the elementary event "getting two heads"?
1st Coin 2nd Coin Sample Space Start H T H T H T (C, C) (C, X) (X, C) (X, X)
Solve
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To go to a festival, Ashley has 3 hoodies (black, white, and red) and 2 pairs of pants (jeans and sweatpants) in her closet. a) Draw the tree diagram representing all…

To go to a festival, Ashley has 3 hoodies (black, white, and red) and 2 pairs of pants (jeans and sweatpants) in her closet.

  1. a) Draw the tree diagram representing all the possible clothing combinations (hoodies and pants).
  2. b) What is the probability that Ashley chooses the red hoodie?
  3. c) What is the probability that she does not choose the sweatpants?
HOODIE PANTS RESULT ⅓ ⅓ ⅓ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ B W R J T J T J T (B, J) (B, T) (W, J) (W, T) (R, J) (R, T) ⅙ ⅙ ⅙ ⅙ ⅙ ⅙
Solve
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A group of friends creates a security password for their video game server. The password must have 3 different characters chosen from the letters $\{A, B, C\}$ and the…

A group of friends creates a security password for their video game server. The password must have 3 different characters chosen from the letters $\{A, B, C\}$ and the numbers $\{1, 2, 3\}$.

  1. a) Describe the sample space $\Omega$ if the first character must necessarily be a letter and the last one a number.
  1. b) If a password is chosen at random from all the possible ones (without the restrictions of the previous section, but keeping the 3 characters different), what is the probability that the password is made up only of numbers?
LETRAS {A,B,C} A B C NÚMEROS {1,2,3} 1 2 3 WITHOUT REPETITION Character 1 Character 2 Character 3 3-character password
Solve

Experimental Probability

What if you can't list equally likely outcomes, like a loaded die or a thumbtack? Then you try it many times and count.

Let's watch it settle down. Flip the coin or roll the die many times and compare the results with what you'd expect.

You can compare an experimental result with the theoretical probability, which is favorable outcomes divided by possible outcomes.

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A content creator has rolled an 8-sided die ($octaedro$) 500 times to check if it is biased. The results obtained for the face with the number "8" are shown in the…

A content creator has rolled an 8-sided die ($octaedro$) 500 times to check if it is biased. The results obtained for the face with the number "8" are shown in the following table:

Rolls ($N$) 100 200 300 400 500
Absolute frequency ($n$) 12 26 39 51 63
  1. a) Calculate the relative frequencies for each stage of the experiment.
  2. b) Toward what value does the probability of obtaining an "8" seem to stabilize?
  3. c) If the die were fair, what should its theoretical probability be according to Laplace's Rule?
0.126 100 200 300 400 500 Rolls (N) 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 Relative frequency (fᵣ) Experimental fᵣ Theoretical P(8) (0.125) 8
Solve
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We roll a six-sided die that we suspect is loaded. After rolling it 500 times, we have obtained the following frequencies: the number 6 has appeared 125 times, the…

We roll a six-sided die that we suspect is loaded. After rolling it 500 times, we have obtained the following frequencies: the number 6 has appeared 125 times, the number 1 has appeared 40 times, and the numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 have appeared with the same frequency as each other.

  1. a) Calculate the relative frequency of the event "Obtaining a 6".
  1. b) According to the Law of Large Numbers, what probability would you assign to the event "Obtaining a number less than 6"?
  1. c) If the die were not loaded, what would be the theoretical probability of obtaining a 6? Compare both results.
Solve

Two-Way Tables and "Given That"

A two-way table sorts the same people (or things) by two categories at once. It shows the overlap of two events directly.

Bus Walk Total
7th grade 24 16 40
8th grade 18 42 60
Total 42 58 100

Each probability is a count from the table divided by the grand total (100):

  • $P(\text{walk}) = \dfrac{58}{100}$ (use the Total row).

  • $P(\text{7th grade and bus}) = \dfrac{24}{100}$ (use one cell).

Sometimes you are told something first: "given that the student is in 8th grade, what is the probability they take the bus?" This is a conditional probability, written $P(\text{bus} \mid \text{8th})$. Look only at the 8th-grade row, because that is now the whole group: $\dfrac{18}{60} = \dfrac{3}{10}$.

Often you must fill in a table from partial information. Use the fact that rows and columns add up.

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At a video game convention, 200 attendees were classified according to their age and their preferred console, obtaining the following contingency table: | | Under 14…

At a video game convention, 200 attendees were classified according to their age and their preferred console, obtaining the following contingency table:

Under 14 years old Over 14 years old Total
PlayStation 45 55 100
Nintendo 60 40 100
Total 105 95 200

If we select an attendee at random, find the probability that:

  1. a) They prefer Nintendo.
  2. b) They are over 14 years old.
  3. c) They are under 14 years old and prefer PlayStation.
  4. d) Knowing that they prefer Nintendo, they are under 14 years old.
Solve
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In an Esports championship, the peripherals used by 120 participants are analyzed. It is known that 75 use a mechanical keyboard and the rest use a membrane one. Of…

In an Esports championship, the peripherals used by 120 participants are analyzed. It is known that 75 use a mechanical keyboard and the rest use a membrane one. Of those who use a mechanical keyboard, 45 also use a wireless mouse. In total, there are 65 participants who use a wireless mouse.

  1. a) Organise this data in a contingency table.
  1. b) If we choose a participant at random, what is the probability that they use a membrane keyboard and a wired mouse?
  1. c) If we know that a participant uses a wireless mouse, what is the probability that their keyboard is membrane?
Mouse Keyboard Wireless Wired Total Mechanical Membrane Total 45 75 65 120 - - - - -
Solve

Geometric Probability

Sometimes the outcomes are not countable. A dart lands somewhere on a board, and there are infinitely many points. If every point is equally likely, probability is a ratio of areas.

This is the same idea as favorable over possible, with area measuring "how much."

A square target 20 inches on a side with a circle of radius 5 inches in the middle. r = 5 in. 20 in. 20 in.
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A delivery drone must land on a square plot of side $10$ feet. Inside the plot there is a circular safety zone (where it must not land) with a radius of $2$ feet, and an…

A delivery drone must land on a square plot of side $10$ feet. Inside the plot there is a circular safety zone (where it must not land) with a radius of $2$ feet, and an optimal landing zone which is a small central square of side $1$ foot.

Assuming that the drone lands at any point on the plot with the same probability:

  1. a) What is the probability that the drone lands in the optimal landing zone?
  1. b) What is the probability that it lands outside the circular safety zone? (Use $\pi \approx 3,14$).
r=2ft 1ft 10ft 10ft
Solve

Multi-Stage Experiments with Probabilities

A tree diagram can also show probabilities. Write each branch's probability on it.

  • To find the probability of one path, multiply along the branches.

  • To find the probability of an event that can happen along several paths, add those paths.

If you draw without replacement, the second stage depends on the first, so the numbers on the second branches change.

Tree diagram for drawing two marbles without replacement from a bag with 5 red and 3 blue marbles, with probabilities on each branch. 5/83/8 RB 4/73/7 5/72/7 RBRB RR: 20/56RB: 15/56BR: 15/56BB: 6/56 1st draw2nd draw

The second stage can also depend on a different experiment, depending on the first result.

You can also use trees to share a prize fairly. If the game is stopped, each player gets the prize times the probability of winning from that point on. Stop each branch as soon as someone has won, because the game ends there.

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Two popular streamers, Ashley and Brandon, are going to do a collaboration. They have an urn with 4 physical challenge cards and 6 mental challenge cards. They decide to…

Two popular streamers, Ashley and Brandon, are going to do a collaboration. They have an urn with 4 physical challenge cards and 6 mental challenge cards. They decide to draw two cards successively and without replacement.

  1. a) Draw the tree diagram representing all the possibilities and assign the probability to each branch.
  1. b) Calculate the probability that the second challenge drawn is mental, knowing that the first was physical.
  1. c) What is the probability that they perform one challenge of each type?
Solve
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A board game consists of flipping a coin and, depending on the result, doing the following: If it lands on heads, a 4-sided die (numbered 1 to 4) is rolled. If it lands…

A board game consists of flipping a coin and, depending on the result, doing the following:

  • If it lands on heads, a 4-sided die (numbered 1 to 4) is rolled.

  • If it lands on tails, a marble is drawn from a bag containing 2 red marbles and 3 green marbles.

  1. a) Represent the experiment using a tree diagram.
  1. b) Calculate the probability of obtaining an even number on the die if the coin landed on heads.
  1. c) What is the total probability that the final result of the experiment is a red marble?
Coin Die / Bag Final Probability 1/2 1/2 1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4 2/5 3/5 Start Heads Tails 1 2 3 4 Red Green 1/2 · 1/4 = 1/8 1/2 · 1/4 = 1/8 1/2 · 1/4 = 1/8 1/2 · 1/4 = 1/8 1/2 · 2/5 = 1/5 1/2 · 3/5 = 3/10
Solve
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In a tennis tournament final between Daniel and Ethan, the first to win 3 sets wins the match. The tournament is interrupted by rain when Daniel is winning 2 sets to 1.…

In a tennis tournament final between Daniel and Ethan, the first to win 3 sets wins the match. The tournament is interrupted by rain when Daniel is winning 2 sets to 1. Knowing that both have the same probability of winning each remaining set:

  1. a) Use a tree diagram to calculate the probability each one has of winning the tournament if they had continued playing.
  1. b) If the total prize is $\$12.000$, how should it be shared fairly according to the probabilities of victory of each one at the time of the interruption?
Interruption Set 4 Set 5 2-1 Daniel wins D 3-1 (End) E 2-2 D 3-2 (End) E 2-3 (End) 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 Daniel wins P = 1/2 Daniel wins P = 1/2 × 1/2 = 1/4 Ethan wins P = 1/2 × 1/2 = 1/4
Solve

Back to the start: you can't know whether the coin will land heads. But $S = \{H, T\}$, $P(\text{heads}) = \dfrac{1}{2} = 0.5 = 50\%$, and after thousands of flips the relative frequency settles near that number. You can't predict one flip, but you can describe all the outcomes and say exactly how likely each one is.

Summary

See all the exercises in this section