Probability
Probability
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Probability
What is Probability?
Probability is the chance that something will happen - how likely
it is that some event will happen.
• Favorable Events:
The elementary outcomes which entail or favor the happening of an
event is known as ‘favorable events’ i.e., the outcomes which help in the
occurrence of that event.
• Complementary Events:
Let E denote occurrence of event. The complement of E
denotes the non occurrence of event E. Complement of E is
denoted by ‘Ē’.
• Independent Events:
Two or more events are said to be ‘independent’, in a
series of a trials if the outcome of one event is does not affect the
outcome of the other event or vise versa.
In other words, several events are said to be ‘dependents’ if the
occurrence of an event is affected by the occurrence of any number of
remaining events, in a series of trials.
Measurement of Probability:
There are three approaches to construct a measure of probability of
occurrence of an event. They are:
Classical Approach,
Frequency Approach and
Axiomatic Approach.
Classical or Mathematical
Approach:
In this approach we assume that an experiment or trial results in
any one of many possible outcomes, each outcome being Equi-probable or
equally-likely.
Definition: If a trial results in ‘n’ exhaustive, mutually exclusive, equally
likely and independent outcomes, and if ‘m’ of them are favorable for the
happening of the event E, then the probability ‘P’ of occurrence of the event
‘E’ is given by-
1. Theoretical probability:
For theoretical reasons, we assume that all n
possible outcomes of a particular experiment are
equally likely, and we assign a probability of to each
possible outcome. Example: The theoretical
probability of rolling a 3 on a regular 6 sided die is 1/6
2. Relative frequency interpretation of probability:
2. The sum of the probabilities of all possible outcomes is 1 or 100%. If A, B,
and C are the only possible outcomes, then pr(A) + pr(B) + pr(C) = 1
Example: A bag contains 5 red marbles, 3 blue marbles, and 2 green
marbles. pr(red) + pr(blue) + pr(green) = 1 5 3 2
+ + =1
10 10 10
3. The sum of the probability of an event occurring and it not occurring
is 1. pr(A) + pr(not A) = 1 or pr(not A) = 1 - pr(A)
Example: A bag contains 5 red marbles, 3 blue marbles, and 2 green marbles.
pr (red) + pr(not red) = 1 3 7
+ pr(not red) = 1 pr(not red) =
10 10
4. If two events A and B are independent (this means that the
occurrence of A has no impact at all on whether B occurs and vice versa), then
the probability of A and B occurring is the product of their individual
probabilities. pr (A and B) = pr(A) · pr(B)
Example: roll a die and flip a coin. pr(heads and roll a 3) = pr(H) and pr(3)
1 1 1
2 6 12
5. If two events A and B are mutually exclusive (meaning A cannot
occur at the same time as B occurs), then the probability of either A or B
occurring is the sum of their individual probabilities. Pr(A or B) = pr(A) + pr(B)
Example: A bag contains 5 red marbles, 3 blue marbles, and 2 green marbles.
5 2 7
pr(red or green) = pr(red) + pr(green)
10 10 10
6. If two events A and B are not mutually exclusive (meaning it is possible that
A and B occur at the same time), then the probability of either A or B occurring
is the sum of their individual probabilities minus the probability of both A and B
occurring. Pr(A or B) = pr(A) + pr(B) – pr(A and B)
Example: There are 20 people in the room: 12 girls (5 with blond hair
and 7 with brown hair) and 8 boys (4 with blond hair and 4 with brown hair).
There are a total of 9 blonds and 11 with brown hair. One person from the
group is chosen randomly. pr(girl or blond) = pr(girl) + pr(blond) – pr(girl and
blond) 12 9 5 16
20 20 20 20