Lecture 2

PNC
Probability
Lecture 2

● Experiment
● Sample Space
● Events
● Set Theory
● Disjoint Events
● Permutations & Combinations
● Questions
Experiment

An experiment is any activity or process whose outcome is subject to uncertainty.

Examples:

tossing a coin once or several times

selecting a card or cards from a deck

The sample space of an experiment, denoted by S, is the set of all possible

Toss a coin → Sample Space H, T

Tossing two coins → Sample Space HH, TT, HT, TH

Tossing three coins → HHH, HHT, HTT, HTH,....

Toss n coins: 2n possibilities

An event is any collection (subset) of outcomes contained in the sample space S.

Coin tossed twice

Simple Event → HH

Compound Event → {HT,TH}

An event is just a set, so relationships and results from elementary set theory can
be used to study events.
Mutually Exclusive or Disjoint Events

A and B have no outcomes in common, so that the intersection of A and B

Proof the following

Given an experiment and a sample space , the objective of probability is to assign

A permutation is used for the list of data (where the order of the data matters) and the combination
is used for a group of data (where the order of data doesn’t matter).
Question
The computers of six faculty members in a certain department are to be replaced. Two
of the faculty members have selected laptop machines and the other four have chosen
desktop machines.
Suppose that only two of the setups can be done on a particular day, and the two
computers to be set up are randomly selected from the six (implying 15 equally likely
outcomes; if the computers are numbered 1, 2, . . . , 6, then one outcome consists of
computers 1 and 2, another consists of computers 1 and 3, and so on).
a.What is the probability that both selected setups are for laptop computers?
b. What is the probability that both selected setups are desktop machines?
c. What is the probability that at least one selected setup is for a desktop computer?
d. What is the probability that at least one computer of each type is chosen for setup?
Question
The computers of six faculty members in a certain department are to be replaced. Two of the
faculty members have selected laptop machines and the other four have chosen desktop
machines.

Suppose that only two of the setups can be done on a particular day, and the two computers to be
set up are randomly selected from the six (implying 15 equally likely outcomes; if the computers
are numbered 1, 2, . . . , 6, then one outcome consists of computers 1 and 2, another consists of
computers 1 and 3, and so on).

a. What is the probability that both selected setups are for laptop computers? 2C2/15

b. What is the probability that both selected setups are desktop machines? 4c2/15

c. What is the probability that at least one selected setup is for a desktop computer? (15-1)/15
=14/15

d. What is the probability that at least one computer of each type is chosen for setup? (2*4)/15
Propositions

A homeowner doing some remodeling requires the services of both a plumbing contractor
and an electrical contractor. If there are 12 plumbing contractors and 9 electrical contractors
available in the area, in how many ways can the contractors be chosen? 108
Question

A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing
shift, and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to
select 6 of these workers for in-depth interviews.

Suppose the selection is made in such a way that any particular group of 6
workers has the same chance of being selected as does any other group (drawing
6 slips without replacement from among 45).

a. How many selections result in all 6 workers coming from the day shift? What is
the probability that all 6 selected workers will be from the day shift?
Question
A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing
shift, and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to
select 6 of these workers for in-depth interviews.
Suppose the selection is made in such a way that any particular group of 6
workers has the same chance of being selected as does any other group (drawing
6 slips without replacement from among 45).
a. How many selections result would lead to all 6 workers coming from the day
shift? What is the probability that all 6 selected workers will be from the day shift?
20C 20C /45C
6, 6 6
Question

A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing
shift, and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to
select 6 of these workers for in-depth interviews.

Suppose the selection is made in such a way that any particular group of 6
workers has the same chance of being selected as does any other group (drawing
6 slips without replacement from among 45).

b. What is the probability that all 6 selected workers will be from the same shift?
Question

A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing
shift, and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to
select 6 of these workers for in-depth interviews.

Suppose the selection is made in such a way that any particular group of 6
workers has the same chance of being selected as does any other group (drawing
6 slips without replacement from among 45).

b. What is the probability that all 6 selected workers will be from the same shift?

(20C6+ 15C6 +10C6)/45C6

A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing
shift, and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to
select 6 of these workers for in-depth interviews.

Suppose the selection is made in such a way that any particular group of 6
workers has the same chance of being selected as does any other group (drawing
6 slips without replacement from among 45).

c. What is the probability that at least two different shifts will be represented
among the selected workers?
Question
A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing shift,
and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to select 6 of these
workers for in-depth interviews.
Suppose the selection is made in such a way that any particular group of 6 workers has the
same chance of being selected as does any other group (drawing 6 slips without
replacement from among 45).
c. What is the probability that at least two different shifts will be represented among the
selected workers?
(1-(20C6+ 15C6 +10C6))/45C6
Question

A production facility employs 20 workers on the day shift, 15 workers on the swing
shift, and 10 workers on the graveyard shift. A quality control consultant is to
select 6 of these workers for in-depth interviews. Suppose the selection is made in
such a way that any particular group of 6 workers has the same chance of being
selected as does any other group (drawing 6 slips without replacement from
among 45).

d. What is the probability that at least one of the shifts will be unrepresented in the
sample of workers?
Question

A1 = Day shift workers unrepresented

P(A1) = 25C6 / 45C6

A2 = Swing shift workers unrepresented

P(A2) = 30C6 / 45C6

A3 = Graveyard shift workers unrepresented

P(A3) = 35C6 / 45C6

P(A1 ∩ A2) = 10C6 / 45C6

P(A1 ∩ A2 ∩ A3) = 0
Question
An academic department with five faculty members— Anderson, Box, Cox, Cramer, and
Fisher—must select two of its members to serve on a personnel review committee. Because
the work will be time-consuming, no one is anxious to serve, so it is decided that the
representative will be selected by putting the names on identical pieces of paper and then
randomly selecting two.
a. What is the probability that both Anderson and Box will be selected?
b. What is the probability that at least one of the two members whose name begins with C is
selected?
c. If the five faculty members have taught for 3, 6, 7, 10, and 14 years, respectively, at the
university, what is the probability that the two chosen representatives have a total of at least
15 years’ teaching experience there?
Question
An academic department with five faculty members— Anderson, Box, Cox, Cramer, and Fisher—must
select two of its members to serve on a personnel review committee. Because the work will be time-
consuming, no one is anxious to serve, so it is decided that the representative will be selected by putting
the names on identical pieces of paper and then randomly selecting two.

a. What is the probability that both Anderson and Box will be selected? 0.1

b. What is the probability that at least one of the two members whose name begins with C is selected?

0.7

c. If the five faculty members have taught for 3, 6, 7, 10, and 14 years, respectively, at the university, what
is the probability that the two chosen representatives have a total of at least 15 years’ teaching experience
there?

0.6
Question
The three most popular options on a certain type of new car are a built-in GPS (A), a
sunroof (B), and an automatic transmission (C). If 40% of all purchasers request A,
55% request B, 70% request C, 63% request A or B, 77% request A or C, 80% request
B or C, and 85% request A or B or C, determine the probabilities of the following
events.
a. The next purchaser will request at least one of the three options.
b. The next purchaser will select none of the three options.
c. The next purchaser will request only a built in GPS and not either of the other two
options.
d. The next purchaser will select exactly one of these three options.
Question
The three most popular options on a certain type of new car are a built-in GPS (A), a
sunroof (B), and an automatic transmission (C). If 40% of all purchasers request A,
55% request B, 70% request C, 63% request A or B, 77% request A or C, 80% request
B or C, and 85% request A or B or C, determine the probabilities of the following
events.
a. The next purchaser will request at least one of the three options. 0.85
b. The next purchaser will select none of the three options. 0.15
c. The next purchaser will request only a built in GPS and not either of the other two
options.
d. The next purchaser will select exactly one of these three options.
References

Probability and statistics for engineers RA Johnson, I Miller, JE Freund - 2000 -

Statistics for business & economics DR Anderson, DJ Sweeney, TA Williams, JD

Probability and statistics for engineering and science J Deovre