Module 2: COUNTING TECHNIQUES

At the end of the module the students should be able to:

1. identify the elements and number of elements of sample space;

2. determine the probability of a simple event;

3. determine the probability of compound events using the addition rules and
multiplication rules; and

4. use the concepts of conditional probability in identifying the probability of an event.

Sample Spaces and Events

A sample space is the set of all possible outcomes of an experiment and usually
denoted by S. any subset E of the sample space S is called event.

Example 1. Tossing a coin. The sample space is S = {H, T}. E = {H} is an event.

Example 2. Tossing a die. The sample space is S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. E = {2, 4, 6} is an

event, which can be described in words as” the number is even”.

Example 3. Tossing a coin twice. The sample space is S = {HH, HT, TH, T T}. E = {HH,
HT} is an event, which can be described in words as” the first toss results in a Heads.

Example 4. Tossing a die twice. The sample space is S = {(i, j) : i, j = 1, 2, . . . , 6}, which
contains 36 elements. ” The sum of the results of the two toss is equal to 10” is an event.

Simple Probability

The probability of an event is a numerical value that describes the likelihood that
an event will occur. It is calculated using the ratio of the cardinality of the event and the
cardinality of the sample space.

Probability of an Event

The probability of an event denoted by P(E) is the numerical measure of the

likelihood that an event will occur. It is computed by finding the quotient of the
number of favorable outcomes and the total number of possible outcomes. In
symbols,

𝑛(𝐸)
𝑃(𝐸 ) =
𝑛(𝑆)

where n(E) is the number of the elements in the event and n(S) is the number of
the elements in the sample space.
Example 1. You roll a single die numbered from 1 to 6. What is the probability of
rolling an odd number, expressed as a fraction?

n(S) = 6

n(odd) = 3
3 𝟏
𝑃(𝑜𝑑𝑑 ) = 6 = 𝟐

*The probability of rolling an odd number is ½.

Example 2. A jar contains 12 caramels, 7 mints and 16 dark chocolates. What is

the probability of selecting a mint expressed as a fraction?

n(S) = 12 + 7 + 16 = 35

n(mint) = 7

7 1
𝑃(𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑡) = =
35 5

*The probability of selecting a mint is 1/5.

Example 3. A four-digit number is formed using the digits 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and 9. What

is the probability that the number formed is even?

n(S) = 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 = 1296

n(even number) = 6 x 6 x 6 x 2 = 432 (last digit should be even and only 2

and 8 are even numbers)
432 1
𝑃(𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 ) = =
1296 3

*The probability that the number is even is 1/3.

Example 4. In a deck of 52 playing cards, what is the probability of drawing a

spade expressed as a decimal?

n(S) = 52

n(spade) = 13

13 1
𝑃(𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑑𝑒) = = = 0.25
42 4

*The probability of selecting a spade is 0.25.

Example 5. The letters that form the word MISSISSIPPI are placed in a bowl. What
is the probability of choosing a “P”?

n(S) = 11

n(letter P) = 2

2
𝑃(𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑃) =
11

*The probability of getting a letter P is 2/11.

Example 6. Ronald has 7 books including books in Algebra, Physics, Chemistry,

English, Filipino, Geography, Trigonometry. What is the probability that his
Algebra, Filipino, and Geography books are located at the rightmost part of the
shelf but not necessarily in that order?

n(S) = 7P7 = 5 040 (arrangement of books without restriction)

Using multiplication rule of counting, n(E) = 3P3 x 4P4 = 3! x 4! = 144

144 1
𝑃 (𝐸 ) = =
5040 35

*The probability that his Algebra, Filipino, and Geography books are located
in the rightmost part of the shelf is 1/35.

Example 7. Teacher Letty is randomly choosing 3 students for a team who will
compete in a math quiz bee, and there are 5 boys and 9 girls to choose from. What
is the probability of having a team of 2 boys and a girl?

n(S) = 14C3 = 364 (team’s order is not important)

Using multiplication rule of counting, n(E) = 5C2 x 9C1 = 10 x 9 = 90

90 45
𝑃 (𝐸 ) = =
364 182
45
*The probability that the team will have 2 boys and 1 girl member is /182.
Module 2
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 1
Simple Probability

I. Solve the following problem sets and make sure to show your solution.

1. When a fair die is thrown, what is the probability of getting a number greater than 4?

2. If a number is chosen at random from the numbers 1 to 20 inclusive, what is the

probability that:

a) a prime number will be picked?

b) an even number will be picked?

c) a single digit number will be picked?

3. A bag contains 7 white balls, 3 red balls and 2 black balls. A ball is picked from the bag
at random. Find the probability of:

a) picking a red ball.

b) picking a black ball.

4. One card is drawn from a standard deck of cards. What is the probability of getting a
face card?

5. A pair of dice is rolled. What is the probability that the outcome has a sum of is 6?

6. A month of the year is chosen at random. What is the probability that the name of the
month ends with r?

7. there are 10 girls and 8 boys in a junior high school class. A committee of 4 students
is being chosen at random to decide the theme for the sports fest. What is the probability
that the committee will have 3 girls and a boy?
Multiplication Rule of Probability (Independent Events)

Events are independent when the outcome of the first does not affect the outcome
of the other. The probability of event A followed by another independent event B occurring
is given by
𝑷(𝑨 ∩ 𝑩) = 𝑷(𝑨) 𝒙 𝑷(𝑩).

Example 1. A coin is tossed and then a die is rolled. What is the probability of getting a
tail followed by a 5?
1
𝑃(𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑙 ) = 𝑃(𝐴) =
2
1
𝑃(5) = 𝑃(𝐵) =
6
𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 𝑃 (𝐴)𝑥 𝑃(𝐵)
1 1 𝟏
𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 2 𝑥 6 = 𝟏𝟐 is the probability of getting a tail followed by a 5.

Example 2. A card is chosen at random from a deck of 52 cards. It is then replaced, and
a second card is chosen. What is the probability of choosing a jack and then an eight?

4
𝑃(𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘) =
52

4
𝑃(𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡) =
52

𝑃(𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 8) = 𝑃(𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘 )𝑥 𝑃(𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡)

4 4 16
𝑃(𝑗𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 8) = 𝑥 =
52 52 2704

𝟏
= 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝟖.
𝟏𝟔𝟗

Example 3. Four cards are chosen from a standard deck of 52 playing cards with
replacement. What is the probability of choosing 4 hearts in a row?

13
𝑃(ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 1𝑠𝑡) =
52
13
𝑃(ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 2nd) =
52

13
𝑃(ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 3rd) =
52
 13
𝑃(ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 4th) =
52
13 13 13 13
𝑃(4 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑤) = 𝑥 𝑥 𝑥
52 52 52 52

𝟏
𝑃(4 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑟𝑜𝑤) = 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝟒 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒓𝒐𝒘.
𝟐𝟓𝟔

Example 4. A coin is tossed three times. Find the probability of getting at least two heads.

The set of possible outcomes

= {(H, H, H), (H, T, H), (H, H, T), (T, H, H), (T, H, T), (T, T, H), (H, T, T), (T, T, T)}

*There are 8 possible outcomes.

The set of favorable outcomes = {(H, H, T), (H, T, H), (T, H, H), (H, H, H)}

*There are 4 favorable outcomes.

4
𝑃(𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑤𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠) =
8
𝟏
= 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔.
𝟐

Example 5. A die is thrown twice. What is the probability both numbers are prime?

3
𝑃(𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒) =
6
3
𝑃(𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒) =
6
3 3 𝟏
𝑃(𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠) = 𝑥 = 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔.
6 6 𝟒

Example 6. A code consists of a digit chosen from 0 to 9 followed by a letter of the

alphabet. What is the probability the code is 5B?
1
𝑃(5) =
10
1
𝑃 (𝐵 ) =
26
1 1 𝟏
𝑃(5𝐵) = 𝑥 = 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝟓𝑩.
10 26 𝟐𝟔𝟎
Module 2
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 2
Multiplication Rule of Probability (Independent Events)

I. Solve the following problem sets and make sure to show your solution.

1. Using a standard deck of cards, what is the probability of selecting a red card, and then
after replacing the card, selecting a heart card?

2. If you roll a die three times, what is the probability of rolling only odd numbers?

3. Bag A contains 9 red marbles and 3 green marbles. Bag B contains 9 black marbles
and 6 orange marbles. Find the probability of selecting one green marble from bag A and
one black marble from bag B.

4. Two seniors, one from each college are randomly selected to travel to Japan. Rudolf
is in a class of 15 students and Angel is in a class of 18 students. Find the probability that
both Rudolf and Angel will be selected.

5. In a bag there are 2 red marbles, 3 white marbles and 5 blue marbles. Once a marble
is selected, it is replaced. Find the probability of getting a white marble followed by a blue
marble.

6. You pick three cards from a deck of 52 cards and putting them back in. What is the
probability that you get a Jack, a king, a queen?

7. If there are 21 people sitting in a bus, 7 are children, 11 are women and 3 are men.
One person is selected and then replaced. Another person is selected from bus. What is
the probability that first person is a woman and the other person is a man?

8. Two odd numbers are selected at random from integers 11 through 22. Find the
probability that the two numbers are multiples of 3 after replacing first?

9. If Claudine randomly chooses two letters from the word “PANDEMIC", find the
probability that she chooses an P and then an E after replacing the first choice.

10. A card is drawn from a pack of 23 cards numbered from 1 to 23. What is the probability
of drawing two cards that the first is 2 and other is 21 with replacement?
Multiplication Rule of Probability (Dependent Events)

Events are dependent when the outcome of the first can affect the outcome of the
other. The probability of event A followed by event B occurring is given by

𝑷(𝑨 ∩ 𝑩) = 𝑷(𝑨) 𝒙 𝑷(𝑩|𝑨)

where P(A) is the probability that event A happens and 𝑷(𝑩|𝑨) is the probability that
event B happens after A happened.

Example 1. You have a drawer with 4 green gum balls, 7 blue gum balls, and 11 yellow
gum balls in it.

a. If you randomly pick 2 gum balls from the drawer, what is the probability that
one will be green and the other will be blue?

4
𝑃(𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛) =
22
7
𝑃(𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒) =
21
4 7 28 𝟐
𝑃(𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒) = 𝑥 = =
22 21 462 𝟑𝟑

*The probability of getting a green followed by blue is 2/33.

b. What is the probability that you will pick 3 yellow gum balls in a row?

11
𝑃(1𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤) =
22
10
𝑃(2𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤) =
21
9
𝑃(3𝑟𝑑 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤) =
20
11 10 9 990 𝟑
𝑃(3 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤) = 𝑥 𝑥 = =
22 21 20 9240 𝟐𝟖

*The probability of getting 3 yellow gum balls in a row is 3/28.

c. What is the probability of picking 3 gumballs in the following order green-blue-

yellow?

4
𝑃(𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛) =
22
 7
𝑃(𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒) =
21

11
𝑃(𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤) =
20

4 7 11 308 𝟏
𝑃(𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑛 − 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝑦𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤) = 𝑥 𝑥 = =
22 21 20 9240 𝟑𝟎

*The probability of picking 3 gum balls in green-blue-yellow order is 1/30.

Example 2. A card is chosen at random from a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Without
replacing it, a second card is chosen. What is the probability that the first card chosen is
a king and the second card chosen is an ace?

4
𝑃(𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘 ) =
52
4
𝑃(𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑘 ) =
51
4 4 16 𝟒
𝑃(𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑒) = 𝑥 = =
52 51 2652 𝟔𝟔𝟑
*The probability of getting a king and followed by ace is 4/663.

Example 3. In a shipment of 20 computers, 3 are defective. Three computers are

randomly selected and tested. What is the probability that all three are defective if the first
and second ones are not replaced after being tested?

3
𝑃(1𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒) =
20
2
𝑃(2𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒) =
19
1
𝑃(3𝑟𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒) =
18
3 2 1 6 𝟏
𝑃(3 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠) = 𝑥 𝑥 = =
20 19 18 6840 𝟏𝟏𝟒𝟎
*The probability that all computers are defectives is 1/1140.
Module 2
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 3
Multiplication Rule of Probability (Dependent Events)

I. Solve the following problem sets and make sure to show your solution.

1. Four cards are chosen at random from a deck of 52 cards without replacement. What
is the probability of choosing a jack, an ace, a nine and a queen in order?

2. On a math test, 5 out of 20 students got a perfect score. If three students are chosen
at random without replacement, what is the probability that all three got a perfect score?

3. A school survey found that 7 out of 30 students walk to school. If four students are
selected at random without replacement, what is the probability that all four walks to
school?

4. Three cards are chosen at random from a deck of 52 cards without replacement. What
is the probability of choosing an ace, a king, and a queen in order?

5. A bag contains 5 red marbles, 4 green marbles and 1 blue marble.

A marble is chosen at random from the bag and not replaced; then a second marble is
chosen. What is the probability both marbles are green?

6. A bag is filled with 3 black marbles, 5 red, and 9 orange. What is the probability of
choosing an orange marble followed by a red one, if the orange marble is NOT replaced
after the first draw?

7. Five residents in barangay Quezon tested positive in COVID 19 test. If barangay

officials need to locate these residents, what is the probability that the barangay officials
can locate all five COVID 19 positive residents if there are one hundred fifty (150)
residents in the barangay (if the addresses of the residents were not given)?

8. You are playing a game that involves drawing three numbers from a hat. There are 25
pieces of paper numbered 1 to 25 in the hat. Each number is not replaced after it is drawn.
What is the probability that each number is greater than 20?

9. To win a lottery, a player must correctly match six different numbers from 1 to 42. What
are your chances of winning if the results of the first 3 drawn numbers matches your
numbers?

10. If 300 residents in your barangay will be part of the Social Amelioration Program of
the government and all 500 residents are qualified. What is the probability that you will be
chosen if recipients will be randomly selected and 296 are already chosen?
Probability of Mutually Exclusive Events

Two events are said to be mutually exclusive if they cannot happen at the same
time. If A and B are mutually exclusive events then the probability of A happening or the
probability of B happening is P(A) + P(B). The probability of a single event that is made
up of two different mutually exclusive events is given by

𝑷(𝑨 𝒐𝒓 𝑩) = 𝑷(𝑨 ∪ 𝑩) = 𝑷(𝑨) + 𝑷(𝑩)

Example 1. If we toss a coin, either heads or tails might turn up, but not heads and tails
at the same time. Similarly, in a single throw of a die, we can only have one number
shown at the top face. The numbers on the face are mutually exclusive events.
Example 2. If a die is rolled, what is the probability of getting a 3 or 4?
1
𝑃(3) =
6
1
𝑃(4) =
6

1 1 2 𝟏
𝑃(3 𝑜𝑟 4) = + = =
6 6 6 𝟑

*The probability of getting a 3 or 4 in tossing a die is 1/3.

Example 3. A magazine contains fourteen pages. If you randomly open it, find the
probability that the page you open is 5 or 9.

1
𝑃(5) =
14
1
𝑃(9) =
14
1 1 2 𝟏
𝑃(5 𝑜𝑟 9) = + = =
14 14 14 𝟕

*The probability that the page is 5 or 9 is 1/7.

Example 4. A basket contains three apples, three bananas, and four oranges. You
randomly select a piece of fruit. What is the probability of picking an apple or banana?

3
𝑃(𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒) =
10
3
𝑃(𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑎 ) =
10
3 3 6 𝟑
𝑃(𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑎) = + = =
10 10 10 𝟓

*The probability of getting an apple or banana is 3/5.

Module 2
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 4
Probability of Mutually Exclusive Events

I. Solve the following problem sets and make sure to show your solution.

1. If an unbiased die is thrown, what is the probability that it will show a 2 or an odd
number?

2. A box contains 20 red, 10 blue and 30 yellow marbles. What is the probability of a
marble drawn at random being:

a) red or blue?

b) yellow or blue?

c) red, blue or yellow?

3. A card is drawn from a standard deck of playing cards. What is the probability of
drawing

a. a heart or the King of Spades?

b. an ace or a face card?

c. a three or a 10?

4. A small choir has a tenor singer, 3 soprano singers, a baritone singer, and a mezzo-
soprano singer. If one of their names was randomly chosen, determine the probability
that it was the name of the tenor singer or soprano singer.

5. Two mutually exclusive events 𝐴 and 𝐵 have probabilities P(A) = 1/10 and P(B) = 1/5.
Find P(A U B).

6. A box contains 20 bills, 8 of which is 20-peso bill, 5 is a 50-peso bill, and 7 is a 500-
peso bill. Find the probability of choosing a 20-peso bill or a 500-peso bill.
Probability of Non-Mutually Exclusive Events

wo events A and B are said to be mutually nonexclusive events if both the

events A and B have at least one common outcome between them. If two events
A and B are given such that A and B have common outcomes, then the probability of the
events “A or B” is determined by

𝑷(𝑨 ∪ 𝑩) = 𝑷(𝑨) + 𝑷(𝑩) − 𝑷(𝑨 ∩ 𝑩).

Example 1. In the case of rolling a die the event of getting an odd number and the event
of getting ‘less than 4’ are not mutually exclusive. The event of getting an odd number
and the event of getting ‘less than 4’ occur when we get either 1 or 3.

Example 2. Find the probability of selecting an ace or a red card from a deck of cards.

4
𝑃(𝑎𝑐𝑒) =
52
26
𝑃(red card) =
52
2
𝑃(𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 ) =
52
4 26 2 28 𝟕
𝑃(𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑑 ) = + − = =
52 52 52 52 𝟏𝟑

*The probability of getting an ace or a red card is 7/13.

Example 3. A bag contains cards numbered from 1 to 14. One card is drawn at random.
Find the probability of selecting a multiple of two or a multiple of three.

7
𝑃(𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 2) =
14
4
𝑃(𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 3) =
14
2
𝑃(𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 2 𝑎𝑛𝑑 3) =
14
7 4 2 𝟗
𝑃(𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 2 𝑜𝑟 3) = + − =
14 14 14 𝟏𝟒

*The probability of getting a multiple of 2 or 3 is 9/14.

Module 2
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 5
Probability of Non-Mutually Exclusive Events

I. Solve the following problem sets and make sure to show your solution.

1. You roll a fair six-sided die. The die shows an even number or a number greater than
three.

2. A deck of cards numbered from 1 to 35 is shuffled and a card is chosen. What is the
probability that the chosen card has a number that is divisible by 8 and 6?

3. Find the probability of selecting a boy or a blond-haired person from 12 girls, 5 of whom
have blond hair, and 15 boys, 6 of whom have blond hair.

4. What is the probability of getting a heart or a queen from a well-shuffled deck

of 52 cards?

5. A lottery box contains 42 lottery tickets numbered 1 to 42. If a lottery ticket is drawn at
random, what is the probability that the number drawn is a multiple of 3 or 5?

6. If I roll a twelve-sided die, what is the probability that I will get either a perfect square
or a value less than 8?

7. If I pick a letter from the English alphabet, what is the probability that it is a letter in
either the word "BELLOW" or "ALLOW?"

8. Six years after 650 high school seniors graduated, 400 had a college degree and 310
were married. One hundred fifty of the students with college degrees were married. What
is the probability that a student has a college degree or is married?

9. A natural number from 1 to 10 is randomly chosen. Find the probability of getting a

multiple of 2 or a multiple of 3.

10. One tile with each letter of the English alphabet is placed in a bag, and one is drawn
at random. What is the probability of selecting a vowel or a letter from the word
PROBABILITY?
Conditional Probability of an Event

Conditional probability is the probability of one event occurring with some

relationship to one or more other events. It is the probability of the event given the
condition that another event has previously occurred. It is computed using the formula

𝑃 (𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 )
𝑃 (𝐵|𝐴) = , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑃(𝐴) ≠ 0
𝑃 (𝐴)
Example 1. A single six-sided dice is rolled one time. Determine the probability that a 2
was rolled, given an even number has been rolled.

A = {2, 4, 6}

B = {2}

𝑃(𝐴) = 3
𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 1
𝟏
𝑃 (𝐵|𝐴) =
𝟑
*The probability that a 2 was rolled given that even number has been rolled is 1/3.

Example 2. A pair of dice is rolled, and the sum of the dice is recorded, determine the
probability that:

a. The sum is greater than 5 given the first dice is a 4.

A = {(4,1), (4,2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4,5), (4, 6)}

B = {(4,2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4,5), (4, 6)}

𝑃(𝐴) = 6
𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 5
𝟓
𝑃 (𝐵|𝐴) =
𝟔
*The probability that sum is greater than 5 given the first die is a 4 is 5/6.

b. The sum is even given the second dice is a 4.

A = {(4,1), (4,2), (4, 3), (4, 4), (4,5), (4, 6)}

B = {(4,2), (4, 4), (4, 6)}

𝑃(𝐴) = 6
 𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 3
3 𝟏
𝑃 (𝐵|𝐴) = =
6 𝟐
*The probability that sum is even given the first die is a 4 is 1/2.

c. A double is rolled given neither dice is a 4.

A = {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,5), (1,6), (2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (2,5), (2,6), (3,1), (3,2),
(3,3), (3,5), (3,6), (5,1), (5,2), (5,3), (5,5), (5,6), (6,1), (6,2), (6,3), (6,5), (6,6)}

B = {(1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (5,5), (6,6)}

𝑃(𝐴) = 25
𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 5
5 𝟏
𝑃 (𝐵|𝐴) = =
25 𝟓
*The probability that a double is rolled given neither dice is a 4 is 1/5.

Example 3. One card is selected from a deck of cards find the probability that: (Write your
answer as a reduced fraction.)

17) the card is heart given it is not black.

𝑃(𝐴) = 26
𝑃(𝐴 ∩ 𝐵) = 13
13 𝟏
𝑃 (𝐵|𝐴) = =
26 𝟐
*The probability that card is heart given it is not black is 1/2.
Module 2
Name:______________________________________Score:_________________
Section:_____________________________________Date:__________________

Activity 6
Conditional Probability of an Event

I. Solve the following problem sets and make sure to show your solution.

1. A pair of dice is rolled, and the sum of the dice is recorded, determine the probability
that:
a. the sum is greater than 9 given the second dice is a 6.

b. the sum is odd given the first dice is a 3

c. a double is not rolled given the sum is greater than 10

2. One card is selected from a deck of cards find the probability that:

a. the card is a queen given that it is a face card.

b. the card is not a seven given it is between 3 and 8 inclusive.

c. the card is not red given it is a queen.

3. At a zoo, a sampling of children was asked if the zoo were to get one additional animal,
would they prefer a tiger or a giraffe. The results of the survey follow:

Respondents Tiger Giraffe Total

Boys 90 110 200
Girls 75 85 160
Total 165 195 360

If one child who was in the survey is selected at random, find the probability that:

a. the child selected the tiger, given the child is a girl.

b. the child is a boy, given the child preferred the giraffe.

c. the child selected is a girl, given that the child preferred the tiger
References

✓ https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/mutually-exclusive-events.html

✓ https://www.onlinemathlearning.com/mutually-exclusive-probability.html

✓ https://www.math-only-math.com/mutually-non-exclusive-
events.html#:~:text=Definition%20of%20Mutually%20Non%2DExclusive,one%20
common%20outcome%20between%20them.&text=as%20compatible%20event.-
,The%20event%20of%20getting%20an%20'odd%2Dface'%20and%20the,get%2
0either%201%20or%203.

✓ https://www.statisticshowto.com/probability-and-statistics/statistics-
definitions/conditional-probability-definition-
examples/#:~:text=Conditional%20probability%20is%20the%20probability,%25)
%20chance%20of%20raining%20today.