Probability 

is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is

to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between
0 and 1, where, roughly speaking, 0 indicates impossibility of the event and 1 indicates certainty. [note 1][1]

 The higher the probability of an event, the more likely it is that the event will occur. A simple
[2]

example is the tossing of a fair (unbiased) coin. Since the coin is fair, the two outcomes ("heads" and
"tails") are both equally probable; the probability of "heads" equals the probability of "tails"; and since
no other outcomes are possible, the probability of either "heads" or "tails" is 1/2 (which could also be
written as 0.5 or 50%).

The theory of probability had its origins in games of chance and

gambling. Probability originated from a gambler's dispute in 1654
concerning the division of a stake between two players whose game
was interrupted before its close.
Probability theory had its origin in the 16th century when an Italian physician and mathematician
J.Cardan wrote the first book on the subject, The Book on Games of Chance. Since its inception, the
study of probability has attracted the attention of great mathematicians. James Bernoulli (1654 – 1705),
A. de Moivre (1667 – 1754), and Pierre Simon Laplace are among those who made significant
contributions to this field. Laplace’s Theorie Analytique des Probabilités, 1812, is considered to be the
greatest contribution by a single person to the theory of probability. In recent years, probability has
been used extensively in many areas such as biology, economics, genetics, physics, sociology etc

The action of tossing a coin has two possible outcomes: Head or Tail. You
don’t know which outcome you will obtain on a particular toss, but you do
know that it will be either Head or Tail (we rule out the possibility of the coin
landing on its edge!).
Contrast this with a science experiment. For example, if your experiment is to
drop an object, you know the outcome for sure: the object will fall towards the
ground. However, tossing a coin is a random experiment, as you do know
the set of outcomes, but you do not know the exact outcome for a particular
execution of the random experiment.
The general formula to determine the probability is:
Probability =Number of favorable OutcomesTotal number of outcomes
When a coin is tossed, there are only two possible outcomes.Therefore, using
the probability formulaOn tossing a coin, the probability of getting a
head is:P(Head) = P(H) = 1/2Similarly, on tossing a coin, the probability of
getting a tail is:P(Tail) = P(T) = 1/2
Tips and Tricks
 There are 13 cards of each suit, consisting of 1 Ace, 3 face cards,
and 9 number cards.
 There are 4 Aces, 12 face cards, and 36 number cards in a 52
card deck.
 Probability of drawing any card will always lie between 0 and 1.
 The number of spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs is same in
every pack of 52 cards.
Important Notes
 The sample space for a set of cards is 52 as there are 52 cards in a deck. This
makes the denominator for finding the probability of drawing a card as 52.
 Learn more about related terminology of probability to solve problems on card
probability better. 
Deck of cards is the term used for a set of 52 cards consisting of different
types of cards
The suits which are represented by red cards are hearts and diamonds while
the suits represented by black cards are spades and clubs.There are 26 red
cards and 26 black cards. 

Important Notes
 The probability of each outcome when a die is rolled will be 1/6.
 Only one number can be a favorable outcome. An outcome is an independent event.
Probability of Rolling a Fair DiceWhen one dice is rolled, there is an equal probability of obtaining numbers from 1-6.

However, if there are two dice the odds are different. If the die has been constructed in a perfectly symmetrical

manner, then we can expect that no outcome will be preferred over the other. Each of the 6 possible outcomes in a

fair die has an even chance to appear. For a large number of rolls, the relative occurrence of each outcome should be

roughly one-sixth (1/6). Therefore, the probability of getting any 1 number is 1/6. The probability of dice formula is

written as:P (F) = No. of Favourable Outcomes / No. of total outcomes = 1/6
Important Notes
 Relative occurrence  of an outcome is used to signify the ratio of the number of times
that a particular outcome is obtained to the total number of times the random
experiment is performed.

 On tossing a coin, the probability of each outcome is 1/2

 P(Head) + P(Tail) = 1

Challenging Questions
 A fair coin is tossed repeatedly. If the tail appears on the first four tosses, then what
is the probability of the head appearing on the fifth toss?

 If a coin is tossed thrice successively, what is the probability of obtaining at least one
head and at least one tail?

Find the probability of rolling two dice and getting a sum of

4.FindFind the Probability of rolling a sum of 6 with two
dice?
Charlie draws five cards out of a deck of 52. If he gets at least three cards of one suit, he
discards the cards not of that suit, and draws as many cards as he discarded. What is the
probability he ends up with five cards of the same suit?

Jessica has drawn a card from a well-shuffled deck. Help her find the
probability of the card either being red or a King.