Probability and Statistics

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Probability and Statistics are helpful guides when it comes to

studying numbers. Probability helps us figure out how likely things
are to happen, like guessing if it will rain. On the other hand,
Statistics is about collecting and understanding data, like looking
at numbers to learn useful things. Together, they help us make
smart decisions and see patterns in the information around us.
This article covers various concepts of probability and statistics. In
probability, we will learn definitions, formulas, types of events,
Rules of probability, and more topics related to probability.

Probability and Statistics

Table of Content
 What is Probability And Statistics?
 Probability Definition
 Statistics Definition
 Terms Related to Probability and Statistics
 Probability and Statistics Formulas
 Probability Formulas
 Statistics Formulas
 Topics under Probability and Statistics
o Rules of Probability
 Types of Event in Probability
 Statistics Topics
 Probability and Statistics for Engineering Mathematics
o Probability in Engineering
o Statistics in Engineering
 Probability and Statistics – Solved Examples
 Practice Problems on Probability and Statistics
What is Probability And Statistics?
Probability deals with the likelihood of events occurring,
assigning a measure between 0 and 1 to quantify uncertainty. It
helps us understand the chances of different outcomes in
uncertain situations, such as predicting weather or game results.
On the other hand, Statistics involves collecting, analyzing, and
interpreting data to draw meaningful conclusions. It provides tools
to summarize information, identify patterns, and make informed
decisions in diverse fields, contributing to our understanding of
uncertainty and variability in real-world scenarios.
Probability Definition
Probability is a measure of the likelihood or chance of an event
occurring. It is expressed as a number between 0 and 1, where 0
indicates an impossible event, and 1 signifies a certain event.
Probability is calculated by dividing the number of favorable
outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes. In simple
terms, it quantifies the likelihood of an outcome in a given set of
circumstances, providing a basis for making informed predictions
and decisions in various fields, including mathematics, statistics,
and everyday life.
Read in Detail: Probability Theory
Statistics Definition
Statistics is the branch of mathematics that involves the
collection, analysis, interpretation, presentation, and organization
of data. It provides methods for making inferences about
populations based on samples. In a broader sense, statistics helps
to quantify uncertainty and variation in data, enabling
researchers, analysts, and decision-makers to draw meaningful
conclusions and make informed decisions. It encompasses various
techniques, including descriptive statistics to summarize data and
inferential statistics to make predictions or test hypotheses about
larger populations.
Read in Detail: Statistics in Maths
Terms Related to Probability and Statistics
 Random Experiment: An experiment is a set of steps that
gives clear results. A random experiment is one where you
can’t predict the exact result.
 Outcome: Outcome means any possible result in a group of
results, called a sample space, noted as S. For example, when
you flip a fair coin, the sample space is {heads, tails}.
 Sample Space: Sample space is the collection of all possible
outcomes in an experiment. Like in a coin flip, the sample
space is {heads, tails}.
 Event: An event is any part of a sample space. If an event A
happens, it means one of the outcomes in A has occurred. For
instance, if event A is rolling an even number on a fair six-sided
die, getting 2, 4, or 6 means event A occurred. If you get 1, 3,
or 5, event A did not happen.
 Trial: A trial is each time you do an experiment, like flipping a
coin. In the coin-flipping experiment, each flip of the coin is a
trial.
 Mean: A random variable’s mean is the average of the values
it could have during a random experiment.
 Expected Value: The expected value is the mean of a random
variable. For instance, if we roll a six-sided die, the expected
value is the average of all possible outcomes, which is 3.5.
Probability and Statistics Formulas
Some of the common formulas of Probability and Statistics are
discussed below:
Probability Formulas
Probability is the likelihood of an event occurring and is calculated
using the following formula:
P(A) = Number of Favourable Outcomes / Total Number of
Possible Outcomes
Where:
P(A) is the probability of event A.
Number of Favorable Outcomes is the count of outcomes where
event A occurs.
Total Number of Possible Outcomes is the count of all possible
outcomes.
In simple terms, probability is the ratio of successful outcomes to
all possible outcomes. The result is a number between 0
(impossible event) and 1 (certain event). It can also be expressed
as a percentage by multiplying the result by 100.
For example, if you want to find the probability of rolling a 4 on
a six-sided die, there is 1 favorable outcome (rolling a 4) out of 6
possible outcomes (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). Therefore,
P(rolling a 4)= 1/6
This formula provides a basic way to express the likelihood of
events in a mathematical manner.
Statistics Formulas
Some of the common formulas for statistics are discussed below:
Mean
The mean is the average of a set of numbers. To find the mean,
add up all the numbers in a dataset and then divide by the total
number of values.
Mean = Sum of all values / Total number of values
xˉ=∑xiNxˉ=N∑xi

Where,
 xˉxˉ is the mean,
 ∑xi is the sum of all terms in the data set,
 N is the total number of terms.
Median
The median is the middle value in a dataset when it’s arranged in
ascending or descending order. If there’s an even number of
values, the median is the average of the two middle numbers.
Median (Odd n)
Median = Value at (n+12)(2n+1)th position
Median (Even n)
Median=12(Value atn2th position+Value at(n2+1)th position)Median=21(Value at2n
th position+Value at(2n+1)th position)
Where,
 n is the number of values in the data set
Mode
The mode is the value that appears most frequently in a dataset.
A dataset may have one mode (unimodal), more than one mode
(multimodal), or no mode at all.
Variance
Variance measures how spread out the values in a dataset are.
It’s calculated by finding the average of the squared differences
between each value and the mean.
Variance= ∑(Each value−Mean) 2 / Total number of values
OR
σ2=∑(xi–xˉ)2Nσ2=N∑(xi–xˉ)2

Where,
 σ2 is the variance
 ∑(xi− xˉxˉ)2is the sum of squared differences between each
term and the mean
 N is the total number of terms.
Standard Deviation
Standard deviation is the square root of the variance. It provides
a more interpretable measure of how spread out the values are in
comparison to the mean.
Standard Deviation = √Variance
OR
σ2=∑(xi–xˉ)2Nσ2=N∑(xi–xˉ)2

Where,
 xi represents each term in the data set
 σ2 is the variance,
 √σ2 is the standard deviation.
 xˉxˉ is the mean
Topics under Probability and Statistics
Some important topics under both Probability and Statistics are
discussed below:
Rules of Probability
The three Major rules of probability we study in probability are:
I. Addition Rule
The addition rule of probability is used when you want to find the
probability of at least one of two mutually exclusive events
happening. For two mutually exclusive events A and B, the
probability of either event occurring (denoted as P(A or B)) is
found by adding the individual probabilities of A and B.
If A and B are not mutually exclusive events, the probability of A

P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A ∩ B)

or B occurring is:

where P(A ∩ B) is the probability of A and B occurring.

P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B),

If A and B are mutually exclusive events, then

since P(A ∩ B) = 0.
II. Multiplication Rule
The multiplication rule of probability is used when you want to
find the probability of two independent events happening
together. To find the chance of two events A and B happening at
the same time, the multiplication rule is used. If A and B depend
on each other, the probability of both events occurring is the
product of the probability of A and the conditional probability of B
given that A has happened.
P(A ∩ B)=P(A)×P(B∣A)
Here,
P(B∣A) is the likelihood of event B happening when event A has already occurred.
III. Bayes’ Rule
Bayes’ Rule is a formula used to update probabilities based on
new evidence. It calculates the probability of an event A
happening given the occurrence of another event B. The formula
is as follows:
P(A∣B) = P(B)
P(B∣A) × P(A)
Here:
 P(A∣B) is the probability of event A occurring given that event B has
occurred.
 P(B∣A) is the probability of event B occurring given that event A has occurred.
 P(A) and P(B) are the probabilities of events A and B occurring,
respectively.
IV. Some Other Rules
 Probability is between 0 and 1: The likelihood of an event
ranges from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain). A probability of 0.5
means an equal chance.
 The sum of all probabilities is 1: When you consider all
possible outcomes of an event, the total probability is 1. If one
outcome has a probability of 0.3, the other outcome (or
outcomes) must add up to 0.7 to make 1.
 Complement Rule: The probability of an event happening
(P(A)) plus the probability of it not happening (P(not A)) equals
1. P(not A) is often written as 1−P(A).
Types of Event in Probability
The various types of events in probability are:
 Simple Event
A simple event is when an outcome has just one possibility. For
instance, in coin flipping, getting heads is a simple event, and
getting tails is another. The probability of a simple event is
determined by the formula:
P(Simple Event) = 1 / Total Possible Outcomes
 Compound Event
A compound event involves two or more simple events. For
example, flipping a coin twice and getting heads both times is a
compound event. The probability of a compound event is found
by multiplying the probabilities of its independent simple events.
P(Compound Event) = P(Event 1) × P(Event 2)
 Independent Event
Independent events are those where the outcome of one event
doesn’t affect the outcome of another. Flipping a fair coin is an
example; each flip has an equal chance of heads or tails.
 Dependent Event
Dependent events are influenced by the outcome of another
event. For instance, drawing marbles from a bag without
replacement changes the probability for subsequent draws.
 Complementary Event
The complement of an event (denoted as A’) includes all
outcomes not in event A. If the probability of rolling an even
number on a fair six-sided die is event A, then the probability of
not rolling an even number (rolling an odd number) is the
complement, and it’s calculated as:
P(Not A) = 1−P(A)
 Probability Distribution
A probability distribution describes how the probabilities of
different outcomes are spread across the possible values of a
random variable. It provides a comprehensive view of the
likelihood of each possible outcome, helping to understand the
uncertainty associated with random events. There are two main
types of probability distributions:
 Discrete Probability Distribution
 Continuous Probability Distribution
 Probability Functions
Probability functions provide mathematical representations of the
probabilities associated with different values of a random
variable. Two common types are Probability Mass Functions
(PMFs) for discrete variables and Probability Density
Functions (PDFs) for continuous variables.
Statistics Topics
Some topics of statistics are:
 Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics is a branch of statistics focused on
summarizing data, presenting it in various forms like graphs or
tables. It involves using summary statistics to provide a clear
understanding of the data. A descriptive statistic serves as a
condensed representation of data. Following are the examples of
descriptive statistics given below.
 Measures of Central Tendency
Central Tendency of a set of data is measured by following
methods
Mean: The average of a set of values. Add up all values and
divide by the number of values.
Median: The middle value when data is arranged in order.
Mode: The most frequently occurring value in a dataset.
Learn More, Mean, Median and Mode
Example: For test scores of 80, 85, 90, 92, and 95, the mean is
(80+85+90+92+95)/5 = 88, the median is 90, and the mode is
not applicable as there is no repeated value.
 Measures of Variability
Standard Deviation: Indicates how spread out values are from
the mean.
Variance: The average of the squared differences from the
mean.
Example: In two sets of scores, 70, 75, 80, 85, and 90, and 60, 65,
70, 75, and 80, both have a mean of 80, but the second set has a
higher variance, showing more variability.
 Inferential Statistics
In practical situations, collecting data from entire populations is
often challenging. Descriptive statistics provide a solution by
summarizing and organizing available data to offer insights. For
instance, calculating the mean (average) and standard deviation
from a sample can provide a snapshot of the central tendency
and variability in a dataset.
However, when population-scale data collection is impractical,
inferential statistics come into play. They involve drawing
conclusions about entire populations based on samples. For
example, if estimating the mean score of all U.S. high school
students on the AP Physics exam is too extensive, inferential
statistics enable drawing reliable conclusions from a manageable
sample. This approach facilitates informed decision-making even
when exhaustive data collection is unfeasible.
 Covarience and Correlation
 Data Representations
Data representation involves the presentation of information in a
meaningful and understandable manner. In statistics, this is
crucial for analyzing and interpreting data effectively. Common
methods of data representation include:
 Graphical Representation
 Pie Charts
 Line Graphs
 Bar Graphs
 Scatter Plots
 Frequency Distribution Tables
 Box-and-Whisker Plots (Boxplots)
 Dot Plots
 Pictograms
 Sampling Techniques
Methods of sampling are used to select a subset of individuals or
items from a larger population for the purpose of making
inferences about the population. Different sampling techniques
are employed based on the nature of the study and the
characteristics of the population. Here are some common
sampling techniques:
 Simple Random Sampling
 Stratified Sampling
 Systematic Sampling
 Cluster Sampling
 Convenience Sampling
 Quota Sampling
 Purposive Sampling
 Snowball Sampling
Probability and Statistics for Engineering
Mathematics
Probability and Statistics form a crucial part of engineering
mathematics, offering a foundation for making informed decisions
and solving complex engineering problems. Here’s a brief
overview of how these mathematical fields apply to engineering:
Probability in Engineering
 Risk Assessment and Safety Analysis: Engineers use
probability to evaluate the risks associated with different
engineering projects or processes, helping to design safer
buildings, vehicles, and systems.
 Quality Control and Reliability Engineering: Probability
models help in assessing the reliability of components and
systems, predicting failures, and improving product quality
through rigorous testing protocols.
 Signal Processing: In electrical and communication
engineering, probability is used to analyze and filter signals,
dealing with the randomness and noise in data transmission.
 Decision Making under Uncertainty: Probability aids in
making decisions when outcomes are uncertain, optimizing
resources and strategies in situations with incomplete
information.
Statistics in Engineering
 Data Analysis and Interpretation: Engineers collect and
analyze data to understand trends, draw conclusions, and
support decision-making processes.
 Experimental Design and Analysis: Statistical methods are
used to design experiments, analyze results, and validate
theories or models in fields ranging from material science to
environmental engineering.
 Process and Quality Improvement: Statistical tools like
control charts and design of experiments (DoE) are pivotal in
manufacturing and industrial engineering for process
optimization and quality enhancement.
 Predictive Modeling: Statistics support the creation of
models to forecast future events or behaviors, critical in areas
such as renewable energy, traffic flow management, and
infrastructure development.
Probability and Statistics – Solved Examples
Example 1: Consider the following dataset: [5, 8, 2, 5, 3, 7,
9]. Calculate the mean, median, and mode.
Solution:
Mean = xˉxˉ

⇒ 39/7 = 5.579
xˉxˉ = [5+8+2+5+3+7+9] / 7
Median:
The number of values in data set is 7, which is odd n
by arranging the values in ascending order [2, 3, 5, 5, 7, 8, 9].
The median is the 4th value, which is 5.
Mode: The mode is 5, as it appears more frequently than any
other number in the dataset.
Example 2: Given the dataset [12, 15, 18, 22, 25],
calculate the variance and standard deviation.
Solution:
The given data set is [12, 15, 18, 22, 25]

⇒ xˉxˉ = sum of all values / total number of values

Mean = xˉxˉ

⇒ xˉxˉ = (12+15+18+22+25) / 5
⇒ 92/5
⇒ 18.4
Now,
Variance = Variance= ∑(Each value−Mean) 2 / Total number of

⇒ σ2 = [(12−18.4)2 + (15−18.4)2 + (18−18.4)2 + (22−18.4)2 +

values

⇒ [41.64 + 11.56 + 0.16 + 13.44 + 43.56] /5

(25−18.4)2 ] / 5

⇒ 110.36 /5
⇒ 22.072
We know,

⇒ √22.072
Standard deviation = √σ2

√σ2= 4.69
Example 3: In a deck of cards, what is the probability of
drawing a red card?
Solution:
Total number of cards in a deck = 52
Total number od Red cards in a deck = 26 (hearts + diamonds)

⇒ P(Red Card) = 2/4

P(Red Card) = 52/26

⇒ P (Red Card) = 1/2 or 0.5 or 50%

Practice Problems on Probability and

Statistics
Problem 1: A bag contains 5 red marbles, 4 blue marbles,
and 3 green marbles. What is the probability of randomly
selecting a blue marble?
Problem 2: A survey is conducted on a sample of 100
people to estimate the average time spent daily on a
mobile phone. The sample mean is 2.5 hours with a
standard deviation of 1 hour. Calculate a 95% confidence
interval for the population mean.
Problem 3: A fair six-sided die is rolled. What is the
probability of rolling an even number or a number greater
than 4?
Problem 4: Data Set: [8, 12, 15, 18, 10]. Calculate the
variance and standard deviation.
Problem 5: Data Set: [10, 15, 12, 18, 15, 22, 20]. Find the
mean, median, and mode of the given data set.
People Also Read:
 Quartile Formula
 Measure of Dispersion
 Normal Distribution

Summary – Probability and Statistics

Probability and Statistics stand as pivotal tools in understanding
the numerical aspects of our world. Probability helps us gauge the
chances of occurrences, aiding in predictions like weather
forecasting, while statistics dives into data collection and analysis,
enabling us to extract meaningful insights from numbers.
Together, they empower us to make informed decisions and
discern patterns in a sea of information.
This article navigates through various facets of both fields,
covering probability’s core principles, such as event types and
rules, alongside statistics’ wide array of techniques, from basic
data representation to complex inferential analysis. By exploring
these domains, we’re equipped with the mathematical
understanding to tackle uncertainty and variability, enhancing our
grasp of the intricate tapestry of real-world phenomena through a
numerical lens.