GCSE Maths – Probability

Table of Outcomes and Frequency Trees

Worksheet

NOTES SOLUTIONS

This worksheet will show you how to work out different types of questions relating to
tables of outcomes and frequency trees. Each section contains a worked example, a
question with hints and then questions for you to work through on your own.

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 Section A

Worked Example

Two fair 6-sided dice are rolled at the same time. Construct a table of outcomes for
their product.

Step 1: Identify the two independent events and their individual outcomes.

Two dice are rolled – these are the independent events.

Each die roll can have an outcome of 1-6.

Step 2: Identify the operation.

“…for their product” – so the operation is multiplication of their values.

Step 3: Draw the table. This should include headings for the rows and columns and should
contain the individual outcomes of each event as sub-headers.

Die 1
1 2 3 4 5 6
1
2

D 3
i 4
e
5
2 6

Step 4: Fill in the table by calculating each outcome.

This is done by multiplying the number in the header of the row and column.

Die 1
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 2 4 6 8 10 12

D 3 3 6 9 12 15 18
i 4 4 8 12 16 20 24
e
5 5 10 15 20 25 30
2 6 6 12 16 24 30 36

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 Guided Example

8 1 1
The two fair spinners shown are spun. Their
7 2 6 2
outcomes are added together to produce a
result. Show all the possible results in a table of 6 3 5 3
outcomes.
5 4 4

Step 1: Identify the two independent events and their individual outcomes.

Step 2: Identify the operation.

Step 3: Draw the table. This should include headings for the rows and columns and should
contain the individual outcomes of each event as headers.

Step 4: Fill in the table by calculating each outcome.

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 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

1. A fair coin is flipped, and a 10-sided die is rolled. Record the possible outcome
combinations in a table.

2. Two 6-sided dice are rolled, and their sum calculated. Record the possible outcome
combinations in a table.

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3. A 12-way spinner and a 4-way spinner are spun, and their sum calculated. If their
sum is odd, it is recorded as O. If their sum is even, it is recorded as E. Record the
possible outcomes in a table.

4. A restaurant serves four main meals and four desserts, the prices shown in the
tables below. Latisha chooses a main meal and a dessert at random. Record in a
table of outcomes the possible prices of her meal.

Main £ Dessert £

Stir Fry 9.50 Brownie 4.50

Beef Soup 8.75 Apple Pie 4.20
Roast Lamb 14.00 Tiramisu 3.25
Carbonara 9.20 Trifle 3.90

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 Section B

Worked Example

Two fair, 6-sided dice are rolled at the same time. Find the probability that their
product is an even number.

Step 1: Construct a table of outcomes for the question.

Die 1
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 2 4 6 8 10 12
D
i 3 3 6 9 12 15 18
e 4 4 8 12 16 20 24
5 5 10 15 20 25 30
2
6 6 12 16 24 30 36

Step 2: Identify the target outcome.

‘Find the probability that their product is an even number’ so even numbers are the target
outcome.
Die 1
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 2 4 6 8 10 12
D
i 3 3 6 9 12 15 18
e 4 4 8 12 16 20 24
5 5 10 15 20 25 30
2
6 6 12 16 24 30 36

Step 3: Count the appearances of the target outcome.

There are 27 even numbers in the table. Circle or highlight them to help you count without
missing any outcomes.

Step 4: Calculate the probability of getting the target outcome.

There are 27 appearances of the target outcome, and 36 possible outcomes.

𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴𝐴 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜

𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 =
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜

27
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 =
36

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 Guided Example

The two fair spinners shown are spun. Find the probability that their sum is more
than 10.

8 1
1
7 6 2
2

6 3 5 3
5 4 4

Step 1: Construct a table of outcomes for the question.

Step 2: Identify the target outcome.

Step 3: Count the appearances of the target outcome.

Step 4: Calculate the probability of getting the required outcome.

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 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

5. A fair coin is flipped, and a 10-sided die is rolled. Find the probability of getting a
head and an even number. You can use your answers from Section A to complete
this question.

6. Two 6-sided dice are rolled. Find the probability that their sum is more than 10. You
can use your answers from Section A to complete this question.

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7. A 12-way spinner and a 4-way spinner are spun, and their sum calculated. If their
sum is odd, it is recorded as O. If their sum is even, it is recorded as E. Calculate the
probability of getting E when the 12-sided spinner gives 1. You can use your answers
from Section A to complete this question.

8. Latisha goes into a restaurant that serves four main meals and four desserts. She
has a voucher for £12.50.

Latisha chooses a main meal and a dessert at random. Find the probability that the
voucher covers the cost of her meal. You can use your answers from Section A to
complete this question.

Main £ Dessert £

Stir Fry 9.50 Brownie 4.50

Beef Soup 8.75 Apple Pie 4.20
Roast Lamb 14.00 Tiramisu 3.25
Carbonara 9.20 Trifle 3.90

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9. Alex has 8 cards:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
She takes one card followed by another to make a two-digit number.
E.g.

1 + 2 = 12
Find the probability that:
a) The number is more than 50.
b) The number is even.
c) The number is a multiple of 7.

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 Section C

Worked Example
100 m
An athletics club has 100 members. The members Men
must choose which race to do in the upcoming 400 m
competition. In the club:

● There are 38 women. 400 m

● 26 women choose the 100m sprint. Women
● 34 men choose the 400m relay. 100 m

Complete the frequency tree.

100 m sprint
Step 1: Fill in any known values that are given. Men

We know the total value – there are 100 400 m relay

members in the club. This goes in the first 34
circle. 100
There are 38 women, and that 26 of them 400 m relay
do 100 m sprint. 38
Women 26
There are 34 men who do 400 m relay. 100 m sprint

Step 2: Work out any unknown values by taking the totals and known values and calculating what
is left.

There are 100 people in the running club and 38 of them are women, so the rest are men.

𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 100 – 38 = 62

There are 62 men and 34 of them do the 400 m relay, so the rest of them do the 100 m
sprint.
𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀𝑀 𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 100 𝑚𝑚 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 = 62 – 34 = 28

There are 38 women and 26 of them do 100 m sprint, so the rest of them do 400 m relay.

𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊𝑊 𝑤𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 400 𝑚𝑚 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 = 38 – 26 = 12

Step 3: Complete the tree with the values you have calculated.
100 m sprint
Men 28
62 400 m relay

34
100
12
400 m relay
38
Women 26
100 m sprint

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 Guided Example

46 people took a Maths and an English exam. 22 people passed the English Exam.
Complete the frequency tree.

Maths

English Pass

Pass
Fail 12

Pass 19
Fail

Fail

Step 1: Fill in any known values that are given in the question.

Step 2: Work out any unknown values by taking the totals and known values and calculating what is
left.

Step 3: Complete the tree with the values you have calculated. Check when you are done that the
totals are correct, and all the values are in the correct section.

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 Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.

10. 104 students took their Spanish and French speaking exams. Write down the number
of students who:
French
a) Passed Spanish
Spanish Pass 59
b) Passed both 78
Pass
Fail 19
c) Passed neither 104
Pass 20
Fail
26

Fail 6

11. 60 people are asked if they prefer strawberry or vanilla ice cream.

● 24 of them are children

● One third of adults prefer vanilla
● 30 people in total prefer strawberry

a) Complete the frequency tree below.

Strawberry

Child

24 Vanilla

60

Strawberry

Adult

Vanilla

b) Write down the number of adults who prefer strawberry.

c) Write down the fraction of children, out of the total population, who prefer vanilla.

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