Scribd
Upload
91 views

Probability!: Notes Examples Sample Problems

Probability is a measure of how likely something is to occur, calculated as the number of desired outcomes divided by the total number of possible outcomes. For example, the probability of rolling a 2 on a standard 6-sided die is 1/6, as there is one 2 among the six possible outcomes. When calculating the probability of two or more independent events, you multiply their individual probabilities for simultaneous events and add them for sequential events. Experimental probability is calculated by recording outcomes from an experiment and dividing successful outcomes by total trials.

Uploaded by

Irfan Baloch
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
91 views

Probability!: Notes Examples Sample Problems

Probability is a measure of how likely something is to occur, calculated as the number of desired outcomes divided by the total number of possible outcomes. For example, the probability of rolling a 2 on a standard 6-sided die is 1/6, as there is one 2 among the six possible outcomes. When calculating the probability of two or more independent events, you multiply their individual probabilities for simultaneous events and add them for sequential events. Experimental probability is calculated by recording outcomes from an experiment and dividing successful outcomes by total trials.

Uploaded by

Irfan Baloch
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

PROBABILITY!

Notes Examples Sample Problems

Definition
Probability

is the measure of how likely something will occur. It is the ratio of desired outcomes to total outcomes.
Probabilities
(#

desired) / (# total)

1.

of all outcomes sums to

Example
If

I roll a number cube, there are six total possibilities. (1,2,3,4,5,6) Each possibility only has one outcome, so each has a PROBABILITY of 1/6. For instance, the probability I roll a 2 is 1/6, since there is only a single 2 on the number cube.

Practice
If

I flip a coin, what is the probability I get heads? What is the probability I get tails?
Remember,

to think of how many possibilities there are.

Answer
P(heads)

= 1/2 P(tails) = 1/2


If

you add these two up, you will get 1, which means the answers are probably right.

Two or more events


If

there are two or more events, you need to consider if it is happening at the same time or one after the other.

And
If

the two events are happening at the same time, you need to multiply the two probabilities together. Usually, the questions use the word and when describing the outcomes.

Or
If

the two events are happening one after the other, you need to add the two probabilities. Usually, the questions use the word or when describing the outcomes.

Practice
If

I roll a number cube and flip a coin: What is the probability I will get a heads and a 6? What is the probability I will get a tails or a 3?

Answers
P(heads P(tails

and 6) = 1/2 x 1/6 =1/12

2/3

or a 5) = 1/2 + 1/6 = 8/12 =

Experimental Probability
An

experimental probability is one that happens as the result of an experiment. probabilities we have done so far are theoretical probabilities, because there was no experiment.
(#

The

of outcomes) / (# of trials)

Experiment
Flip

a coin 50 times, and write down what happens for each flip. the end, find the experimental probabilities by writing the how many times heads and tails occurred over the total number of trials (flips)

In

You might also like