PRACTICE EXERCISES

CLASSICAL PROBABILITY
1. A hospital records the following distribution of eye colors: Brown (50%), Blue
(30%), Green (20%). What is the probability that a randomly selected patient
does not have blue eyes?
2. A medical lab has 12 blood samples: 5 are positive for infection, and 7 are
negative. What is the probability of randomly selecting a negative sample?
3. A hospital has a 20% chance of receiving an emergency surgery case in an hour.
What is the probability that they do not receive such a case?
4. A genetic screening test shows a 95% accuracy rate for detecting a particular
disorder. What is the probability that the test incorrectly classifies a patient?
5. A clinical trial has 60% male and 40% female participants. If a participant is
randomly selected, what is the probability that they are female?
6. A study found that 1 in 200 patients develops a rare side effect from a new
medication. What is the probability that a randomly chosen patient does not
develop the side effect?
7. A research survey shows that 65% of respondents prefer telemedicine. What is
the probability that a randomly selected person does not prefer telemedicine?
8. A vaccine is effective in 92% of cases. What is the probability that it is ineffective
for a randomly selected patient?

SAMPLE SPACE AND EVENTS

1. A disease test has two possible outcomes: Positive (P) and Negative (N). A
patient may have the disease (D) or not (~D). List the sample space.
2. A prenatal test identifies three pregnancy outcomes: Healthy (H), Genetic
Disorder (G), or Miscarriage (M). What is the sample space?
3. A drug trial records three possible reactions: No Side Effect (N), Mild Reaction
(M), and Severe Reaction (S). What is the sample space?
4. A lab test for COVID-19 returns one of three outcomes: Negative (N), Mild
Positive (M), or Strong Positive (S). What is the sample space?
5. A new study classifies participants as Underweight (U), Normal (N), Overweight
(O), or Obese (B). What is the sample space?
6. A diagnostic machine detects one of four possible conditions: Normal (N), Mild
(M), Moderate (D), and Severe (S). What is the sample space?
7. A clinical trial monitors patient responses: Effective (E), Partially Effective (P), or
Ineffective (I). List the sample space.
8. A hospital triage system categorizes cases as Low (L), Medium (M), or High (H)
priority. What is the sample space?
MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE AND NON-MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE EVENTS
1. A hospital reports that 20% of patients have high blood pressure (H) and 15%
have diabetes (D). If 5% have both conditions, what is the probability a patient
has either high blood pressure or diabetes?
2. In a maternity ward, 12% of mothers experience preeclampsia, and 8% develop
gestational diabetes. What is the probability a randomly selected mother has
either condition, assuming they are mutually exclusive?
3. In a blood bank, 45% of donors have Type A blood, 30% have Type B, and 25%
have Type O. Are these mutually exclusive events? Explain.
4. A vaccination program records 70% of children as fully vaccinated and 20% as
partially vaccinated. If 10% fall into both categories, what is the probability of
selecting a child who is either fully or partially vaccinated?
5. A screening test detects 85% of cancer cases and misidentifies 10% of healthy
patients as positive. What is the probability that a randomly tested individual is
either truly positive or a false positive?
6. A study finds 25% of adults suffer from anxiety, 15% from depression, and 10%
from both. What is the probability a randomly selected person has either
condition?
7. A patient is tested for two genetic conditions, A and B. If P(A) = 0.30, P(B) = 0.25,
and P(A and B) = 0.10, what is the probability of having at least one of the
conditions?
8. A new flu vaccine is 80% effective in preventing infection. If 15% of vaccinated
individuals still contract the flu, what is the probability of getting the flu regardless
of vaccination status?

INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT EVENTS

1. A hospital records 12% of patients with high cholesterol and 8% with heart
disease. If these conditions are independent, what is the probability a randomly
chosen patient has both?
2. A genetic test has an 85% accuracy rate. If a second confirmatory test also has
85% accuracy, what is the probability that a truly affected person tests positive
twice?
3. In a laboratory, 3 out of 20 test tubes contain a virus. If two tubes are randomly
selected with replacement, what is the probability both contain the virus?
4. A woman has a 25% chance of needing a C-section for her first birth. If she has
one, there’s a 60% chance of having another for her second birth. What is the
probability she has two consecutive C-sections?
5. In a study, 5% of participants have a rare genetic mutation. If two unrelated
individuals are randomly selected, what is the probability both have the mutation?
6. A diagnostic test has a 90% sensitivity rate. If a patient is tested twice and the
results are independent, what is the probability of two positive tests?
7. A blood bank finds that 6% of donors have AB-negative blood. What is the
probability two randomly selected donors both have this blood type?
8. A study finds 20% of individuals in a city carry a specific bacteria. If two people
are randomly selected, what is the probability both are carriers?
ODDS AND EXPECTATIONS
1. In a study of 500 people, 100 have diabetes. What are the odds of selecting a
diabetic person?
2. A clinic records 150 smokers and 850 non-smokers. What are the odds of
randomly selecting a smoker?
3. A hospital reports 300 flu cases out of 1,200 patients. What are the odds that a
randomly selected patient has the flu?
4. A study finds 250 out of 1,000 patients suffer from hypertension. What are the
odds of choosing a person with hypertension?
5. In a weight loss trial, 60 participants lost weight, and 40 did not. What are the
odds of selecting someone who lost weight?
6. A doctor observes 30 patients with high cholesterol and 90 without. What are the
odds that a patient has high cholesterol?
7. A medical study finds 450 out of 900 participants have a family history of heart
disease. What are the odds of randomly selecting such a person?
8. A cancer screening program detects 75 cases out of 300 participants. What are
the odds a randomly selected individual has cancer?

CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY
1. A tuberculosis test has an 85% sensitivity and 90% specificity, with a 5%
prevalence. If a patient tests positive, what is the probability they actually have
TB?
2. In a lung cancer study, 20% of smokers develop cancer while 2% of non-smokers
do. If a randomly chosen person has cancer, what is the probability they are a
smoker?
3. A hospital ICU finds that 30% of admitted patients are immunocompromised. If
40% of them develop infections and 10% of non-immunocompromised patients
do too, what is the probability a patient with an infection is immunocompromised?
4. A new drug is 70% effective in reducing symptoms in patients with a certain
disease. If a patient recovers, what is the probability the drug was responsible?
5. A blood test detects HIV with 99% accuracy. If 0.5% of the population actually
has HIV, what is the probability that a positive test result is correct?
6. A study finds that 10% of people with high blood pressure also have diabetes. If a
randomly selected patient has diabetes, what is the probability they also have
high blood pressure?
7. A test for a rare disorder has a 95% sensitivity and 90% specificity. If the disorder
affects 1 in 1,000 people, what is the probability that a positive test result is
accurate?
8. A vaccine prevents 90% of flu cases. If a vaccinated person still gets the flu, what
is the probability that they were exposed to the virus?