TOPIC 11 PROBABILITY

REVIEW QUESTIONS
FLUENCY

Which of the following is always true for an event, M , and its complementary event,
M?
1
P( M ) P( M ) =
1
P( M ) + P( M ) =
0
A P( M ) + P( M ) =
B
C
0
P( M ) P( M ) =
1
E
D P( M ) P( M ) =
2 A number is chosen from the set {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10} . Which of the following
pairs of events is mutually exclusive?
A {2, 4, 6} and {1, 2, 3}
B {1, 2, 3, 5} and {4, 6, 7, 8}
C {0, 1, 2, 3} and {3, 4, 5, 6}
D {multiples of 2} and {factors of 8}
E {even numbers} and {multiples of 3}
1

Which of the following states the Multiplication Law of probability correctly?

B) P( A) + P( B)
A P( A =
B) P( A) P( B)
B P( A =
B ) P( A) P( B )
C P( A =
B) P( A) + P( B)
D P( A =
P( A) P( A B) + P( B)
E=

The odds 32 expressed as a probability are:

A

1
5

3
5

1
2

2
5

The following information relates to questions 5 and 6.

=
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,=
9, 10} and A {2,
=
3, 4} and B {3, 4, 5, 8}
5

A B equals:
A {2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 8}

B {3, 4}

D {2,3, 4,5,8}

E {2,5,8}

C {2,3, 4}

A B equals:
A {3, 4}

B {2}

C {2, 3, 4, 5, 8}

D {2, 3, 4}

E {1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10}

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1
3

Shade the region stated for each of the following Venn diagrams.
a A B

b A B

c A B C

Convert the following odds to probabilities.

a 37
b 52
c 125
9 Convert the following probabilities to odds.

7
11

6
7

25
33

PROBLEM SOLVING
1

From past experience, it is concluded that there is a 99% probability that July will be a
wet month in Launceston (it has an average rainfall of approximately 80 mm ). The
probability that July will not be a wet month next year in Launceston is:
A 99%

B 0.99

1
100

D 1

E 0

A card is drawn from a well-shuffled deck of 52 cards. What is the theoretical probability
of not selecting a red card?
A

3
4

1
4

1
13

1
2

E 0

Which of the following events is not equally likely?

A Obtaining a 5 or obtaining a 1 when a die is rolled
B Obtaining a club or obtaining a diamond when a card is drawn from a pack of cards
C Obtaining 2 Heads or obtaining 2 Tails when a coin is tossed twice
D Obtaining 2 Heads or obtaining 1 Head when a coin is tossed twice
E Obtaining a 3 or obtaining a 6 when a die is rolled
4 The Australian cricket team has won 12 of the last 15 Test matches. What is the
experimental probability of Australia not winning its next Test match?
3

4
5

1
5

1
4

3
4

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E 1

5 A card is drawn from a well-shuffled pack of 52 cards. What is the theoretical probability

10

11

12

13

of drawing:
a an ace
b a spade
c a queen or a king
d not a heart?
The odds for a horse to win a race are 43.
a What is the probability that this horse will win the race?
b What is the probability that this horse will not win the race?
c Charlie bets $12 that this horse will win. If the horse wins, what is Charlies payout?
A die is rolled five times.
a What is the probability of rolling five 6s?
b What is the probability of not rolling five 6s?
Alan and Mary own 3 of the 8 dogs in a race. What is the probability that:
a one of Alans or Marys dogs will win?
b none of Alans or Marys dogs will win?
A die is rolled. Event A is obtaining an even number. Event B is obtaining a 3.
a Are events A and B mutually exclusive?
b Calculate P( A) and P( B ) .
c Calculate P( A B ) .
A card is drawn from a shuffled pack of 52 playing cards. Event A is drawing a club and
event B is drawing an ace.
a Are events A and B mutually exclusive?
b Calculate P( A) , P( B ) and P( A B )
c Calculate P( A B ) .
Discuss the accuracy of the following statements.
a It did not rain on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, so it will not rain on Thursday.
b A cricket team lost because two of its batsmen scored ducks.
c The Rams family had a boy, then a girl and then another boy. They must have a girl
next.
Comment on the contradictions involved in these statements.
a I was defeated by a loser.
b The slowest motocross racer in the competition won the race.
c The most popular person did not get elected.
A tetrahedral die is numbered 0, 1, 2 and 3. Two of these dice are rolled and the sum of
the numbers (the number on the face that the die sits on) is taken.
a Show the possible outcomes in a two-way table.
b Are all the outcomes equally likely?
c Which total has the least chance of being rolled?
d Which total has the best chance of being rolled?
e Which sums have the same chance of being rolled?

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14 A bag contains 20 pears, of which 5 are bad. Cathy picks 2 pears (without replacement)

from the bag. What is the probability that:

a both pears are bad?
b both pears are good?
c one of the two pears is good?
15 Determine the probability of drawing 2 aces from a pack of cards if:
a the first card is replaced before the second one is drawn
b the first card drawn is not replaced.
16 On grandparents day at a school a group of grandparents was asked where they most like
to take their grandchildren the beach (B) or shopping (S). The results are illustrated in
the Venn diagram below. Use the Venn diagram given to calculate the following
probabilities relating to the place grandparents most like to take their grandchildren.

What is the probability that a randomly selected grandparent preferred to take their
grandchildren to the beach or shopping?
b What is the probability that a randomly selected grandparent preferred to take their
grandchildren to the beach, given that they preferred to take their grandchildren
shopping?
17 When all of Saphrons team players turn up for their twice weekly netball training the
chance that they then win their Saturday game is 0.65. If not all players are at the training
session then the chance of winning their Saturday game is 0.40. Over a four week period,
Saphrons players all turn up for training three times.
a Using a tree diagram, with T to represent all players training and W to represent a
win, represent the winning chance of Saphrons netball team.
b Using the tree diagram constructed in part a, determine the probability of Saphrons
team winning their Saturday game. Write your answer correct to 4 decimal places.
c Determine the exact probability that Saphrons team did not train given that they won
their Saturday game.
18 Andrew does not know the answer to two questions on a multiple choice exam. The first
question has four choices and the second question he does not know has five choices.
a What is the probability that he will get both questions wrong?
b If he is certain that one of the choices cannot be the answer in the first question, how
will this change the probability that he will get both questions wrong?
a

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19 Mariah the Mathematics teacher wanted to give her students a chance to win a reward at

the end of the term. She placed 20 cards into a box, and wrote the word ON on 16 cards,
and OFF on 4 cards. After a student chooses a card, that card is replaced into the box for
the next student to draw. If a student chooses an OFF card, then they do not have to attend
school on a specified day. If they choose an ON card, then they do not receive a day off.
a Mick, a student, chose a random card from the box. What is the probability he
received a day off?
b Juanita, a student, chose a random card from the box after Mick. What is the
probability that she did not receive a day off?
c What is the probability that Mick and Juanita both received a day off?
20 In the game of draw poker, a player is dealt 5 cards from a deck of 52. To obtain a flush,
all 5 cards must be of the same suit.
a Determine the probability of getting a diamond flush.
b Determine the probability of getting any flush.
21 a A Year 10 boy is talking with a Year 10 girl and asks her if she has any brothers or
sisters. She says, Yes, I have one. What is the probability that she has a sister?
b A Year 10 boy is talking with a Year 10 girl and asks her if she has any brothers or
sisters. She says, Yes, I have an older one. What is the probability that she has a
sister?

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ANSWERS
FLUENCY
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

A
B
B
D
B
B
a

8 a

5
b
8
9 a Yes
=
P( A)
b

1
2

2
c
3
10 a No
P( A)
b =

1
4

c
11 a

c
12 a
b

c
13 a

7
10

2
7

c
a
b
c

5
17

47
16
825

PROBLEM SOLVING
1
2
3
4
5

3
8

b
c
d
e
14 a

=
and P ( B )

=
, P( B)

1
13

1
6

, P( =
A B)

1
52

4
13

Whether it rains or not on Thursday is not

determined by what happened on Monday,
Tuesday or Wednesday. It can still rain on
Thursday.
The teams win or loss depends upon how other
players bat and bowl or how the other team
plays.
There is an equal chance of having a boy or a
girl.
If you were defeated, the opponent was the
winner.
The motorcycle rider who crossed the line first
and won the race would not be the slowest
rider.
The person elected was the most popular choice
for the position.

No
0 and 6
3
0 and 6, 1 and 5, 2 and 4

C
D
D
B
a

1
13

1
4

2
13

3
4

16 a

15
25

= 53

3
7

8
10

4
7

$28

b
c
a
b

7775
7776

1
19

21
38

15
38

15 a

1
169

1
221

4
5

1
7776

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17 a

b 0.5875
c 478
18 a

3
5

8
15

19 a

1
5

4
5

c 251
20 a 0.000 495
b 0.001 981
21 a 13
b

1
2

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