3A Data Handling

5 Probability

5.1 Basic Knowledge of Probability (P. 5.2)

5.2 Methods of Listing Possible Outcomes (P. 5.17)
✂ 5.3 Expected Values (P. 5.27)

Safe Journey
Safety is a major concern for air transport service. Aeroplane manufacturers make great
efforts to avoid air accidents, and there are about 0.05 deaths only per billion kilometres
travelled.

Q&A Which term below can describe the chance of the occurrence of a fatal
air accident?

certainoftenrarelyimpossible
5.2 Chapter 5

5.1 Basic Knowledge of Probability

A Meaning of Probability
In our daily lives, we often come across activities involving uncertainty.
This kind of activities involves events, that may or may not happen. For
example:
In Hong Kong, it is
unlikely to find a day in
August with temperature
lower than 15cC.

Activity: A day is chosen from August in Hong Kong.

Event: A day with temperature lower than 15cC is chosen.

When throwing a dice once,

it is most likely to obtain
a number greater than 1.

Interesting Maths
The Hong Kong Observatory
offers rain forecasts with
Activity: A dice is thrown once. the help of probabilities.
Event: A number greater than 1 is obtained.

From the examples above, the words ‘unlikely’ and ‘most likely’ are
used to describe the chance of the occurrence of an event. However, such
words are only a rough indication.
In mathematics, we use a number called probability to indicate the
chance that an event will occur. The greater the probability of an event,
the greater the chance that it will occur.

B Outcomes of an Activity
It is given a bag containing six balls numbered ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ and ‘6’
respectively.

1
2 3

4 6
5

event probability
 Probability 5.3

Consider an activity of drawing a ball from the bag.

1. The ball numbered ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ or ‘6’ can be drawn. We say
that ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ and ‘6’ are the possible outcomes of this
activity.

2. The collection of all possible outcomes is called the sample space. In

this activity, ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ and ‘6’ form the sample space.

3. This activity has many events,

e.g. ‘an odd number is drawn’,
‘an even number is drawn’,
and ‘a number greater than 3 is drawn’, etc.
For the event ‘an odd number is drawn’, ‘1’, ‘3’, and ‘5’ are the
outcomes favourable to the event. They are called favourable
outcomes to this event.

This is known as a Venn

1 2
diagram. It shows the
3 4 relation among the sample
Sample space
5 6 space, possible outcomes
and favourable outcomes.
Outcomes favourable to the event
‘an odd number is drawn’

4. If an event is certain to occur, it is called a certain event. In this

activity, ‘a number less than 7 is drawn’ is a certain event.
If an event is impossible to occur, it is called an impossible event.
In this activity, ‘a number less than 1 is drawn’ is an impossible
event.

5. Since we do not know which one of ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’ and ‘6’
will be drawn, some events may or may not occur, such as ‘an odd
number is drawn’ and ‘an even number is drawn’. This kind of events
are called random events.
Here are more examples.

Favourable
Activity All possible outcomes Event
outcome(s)

Toss a coin. ‘head’, ‘tail’ A ‘head’ is obtained. ‘head’

Throw a dice. ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘5’, ‘6’ An even number is obtained. ‘2’, ‘4’, ‘6’

Choose a letter from the A vowel is chosen. (Note: vowels are

‘B’, ‘A’, ‘S’, ‘E’ ‘A’, ‘E’
word ‘BASE’. A, E, I, O, U.)

possible outcome sample space favourable outcome Venn diagram

certain event impossible event random event
5.4 Chapter 5

Quick Quiz
Complete the table below.

Favourable
Activity All possible outcomes Event
outcome(s)

(a) Choose a letter from the

‘T’ is chosen.
word ‘WATER’.

(b) Choose a day from a week. Sunday is chosen.

(c) Choose a number from

An odd number is chosen.
17, 18, 19, 20.

C Probability of an Event
In an activity, suppose all the possible outcomes are equally likely to
occur, i.e. they are equally likely outcomes. Then the probability of an
event E, denoted by P(E), is defined as:

number of outcomes favourable to E

P(E) =
total number of possible outcomes

Note: Before applying the definition of probability, we should make

sure that all the possible outcomes are equally likely outcomes.
Quick
Example Suppose a fair dice is thrown. Denote the event of ‘getting an ◀ ‘Fair’ means that all possible
even number’ by E. outcomes in the activity are
equally likely outcomes.

Getting an
even number

Total number of possible outcomes = 6

Number of outcomes favourable to E = 3
P(E) = 3
6

= 1
2

Quick Quiz
A fair dice is thrown. Find the probability of getting a number less than 3.

equally likely outcomes

 Probability 5.5

Consider the activity in the previous Quick Example again.

It is impossible to get ‘7’.
The probability of getting ‘7’ can be found as follows:
There are only 1 to 6.
Total number of possible outcomes = 6 I never get ‘7’.
Number of outcomes favourable to the event = 0
P(getting ‘7’) = 0 = 0
6

Meanwhile, it is certain to get a number less than 7.

The probability of getting a number less than 7 can be found
I always get a number
as follows:
less than 7.
Total number of possible outcomes = 6
Number of outcomes favourable to the event = 6
P(getting a number less than 7) = 6 = 1
6

In fact: (a) P(impossible event) = 0

(b) P(certain event) = 1
(c) For any event E, 0 G P(E) G 1

Example 1 A letter is randomly chosen from the word ‘EXCELLENT’. ◀ Since a letter is randomly
Level 1 Find the probability of choosing each of the following chosen, all the possible
outcomes are equally likely to
letters. occur.
(a) ‘X’ (b) ‘L’ (c) ‘E’

Solution Total number of possible outcomes Diagram Clue

=9 ◀ There are 9 letters in the word. (a) ‘ X ’ is chosen

(a) Number of favourable outcomes

E X C
=1 ◀ There is only 1 ‘X’ in the word.
(b) ‘ L ’ is chosen
P(‘X’) = 91 E L L

E N T
(b) Number of favourable outcomes
=2 ◀ There are 2 ‘L’s in the word.
(c) ‘ E ’ is chosen
P(‘L’) = 29

(c) Number of favourable outcomes

=3 ◀ There are 3 ‘E’s in the word.

P(‘E’) = 93

= 31
5.6 Chapter 5

Instant Drill 1
A letter is randomly chosen from the word ‘PROBABILITY’. Find the
probability of choosing each of the following letters.
(a) ‘L’ (b) ‘I’
(c) ‘B’ (d) ‘Z’
➥ Ex 5A 5

Example 2 3# is a 2-digit number, where # is an integer from 0 to 9

Level 1 inclusive. Find the probability that the 2-digit number is a
multiple of 4.

Solution Total number of possible outcomes = 10 Diagram Clue

Number of favourable outcomes = 2 ◀ Only 32 and 36 are Multiples of 4
multiples of 4.
2
P(a multiple of 4) = 10 30 31 32 33 34

= 51 35 36 37 38 39

Instant Drill 2
6 is a 2-digit number, where  is an integer from 1 to 9 inclusive.
Find the probability that the 2-digit number is
(a) a multiple of 6, (b) a multiple of 9.
➥ Ex 5A 8

Example 3 A bag contains n gold coins, 8 silver coins and

Level 2 4 bronze coins. If a coin is randomly drawn from the bag,
the probability of drawing a silver coin is 1 . Find the value
3
of n.

Solution P(a silver coin) = 1

3

i.e. 8 = 1 ◀ Total number of possible

n+8+4 3
outcomes = n + 8 + 4
8 = 1
n + 12 3
24 = n + 12
n = 12

Instant Drill 3
There are 4 blue shirts, 5 white shirts and x green shirts in a
wardrobe. If a shirt is randomly selected from the wardrobe, the
➥ Ex 5A 24, 25
probability of selecting a blue shirt is 1 . Find the value of x.
4 Public Exam 1
Question
 Probability 5.7

Example 4 The following bar chart shows the distribution of the

Level 2 residential districts of S3C students.
Cross-topic
Residential districts of S3C students

20

Number of students
15

10

0
Hong Kong Kowloon New
Island Territories
Residential districts

If a student is selected at random from the class, find the

probability that the student
(a) lives in Kowloon,
(b) does not live in the New Territories.

Solution Total number of possible outcomes = 3 + 18 + 11

= 32 ◀ This is the total number of
students in the class.
(a) Number of favourable outcomes = 18

P(living in Kowloon) = 18
32
9
= 16

(b) Number of favourable outcomes = 3 + 18 ◀ If a student does not live in

= 21 the New Territories, then the
student must live in either
21
P(not living in the New Territories) = 32 Hong Kong Island or Kowloon.

Instant Drill 4
The bar chart on the right shows the distribution of the Numbers of children that the
employees of a company have
numbers of children that the employees of a company have. If
Number of employees

an employee is chosen at random from the company, find the

10
probability that the employee has
(a) 3 children, 5

(b) at least 1 child.

0
0 1 2 3
Number of children

➥ Ex 5A 28

Public Exam 7
Question
5.8 Chapter 5

Many probability problems involve playing cards. The distribution of a

pack of 52 playing cards is as follows:

Spade :

Heart :
Number of
suits = 4
Club :

Diamond :

Number of playing cards in each suit = 13

Note: (a) Cards J, Q and K are called face cards.

(b) Cards 2 to 10 are called number cards.

(c) Cards A are called ace cards.

Example 5 A card is drawn at random from a pack of 52 playing

Level 2 cards. Find the probability that the card drawn is
(a) a ‘Q’, (b) a diamond,
(c) a black diamond, (d) black or red.

Solution Total number of possible outcomes = 52

(a) There are 4 ‘Q’s in the pack.
` Number of favourable outcomes = 4
4
P(‘Q’) = 52

1
= 13

(b) There are 13 diamonds in the pack.

` Number of favourable outcomes = 13
13
P(diamond) = 52

= 41

(c) No diamonds are black in colour. ◀ Diamonds ♦ are red cards.

` Number of favourable outcomes = 0
0
P(black diamond) = 52
=0
 Probability 5.9

(d) Number of black cards = 13 # 2 = 26 ◀ Both spades ♠ and clubs ♣

Number of red cards = 13 # 2 = 26 ◀ are black cards, and there are
13 cards in each suit.
` Number of favourable outcomes = 26 + 26 = 52
Both hearts ♥ and diamonds ♦
P(black or red) = 52
52
are red cards, and there are
13 cards in each suit.
= 1

Instant Drill 5
A card is drawn at random from a pack of 52 playing cards. Find the
probability that the card drawn is
(a) an ‘A’, (b) a spade, (c) red,
(d) a red ‘K’, (e) a red club.
➥ Ex 5A 20

D Relative Frequency
When a fair coin is tossed, the outcomes ‘head’ and ‘tail’ are equally
likely to occur. By the definition of probability on P.5.4, we have

P(head) = 1 and P(tail) = 1

2 2

However, in reality, probabilities of some events cannot be found using

the above method. For example:
(i) Getting a head when (ii) Throwing a pin with (iii) Success rate of an
an unfair coin is tossed the tip pointing up operation

Interesting Maths
In these situations, we may use relative frequency to estimate the
The table below shows the
probability of the event. In general:
numbers of newborn babies
in Hong Kong in 2017.
Relative frequency of an event E = number of times that event E happens Relative
number of trials Number
frequency
Female 27 312 0.483
Male 29 236 0.517
We find that the relative
frequencies of giving birth
to a boy and a girl are both
close to 0.5.

relative frequency
5.10 Chapter 5

Quick
Example Suppose a coin is tossed 20 times and the results are as follows:

Result Head Tail

Frequency 13 7 Quick Quiz

Estimate the probability of
Relative frequency of getting a head = 13 getting a tail in the Quick
20
Example.
` The probability of getting a head is estimated to be 13 .
20

Example 6 The following table shows the number of passengers in

Level 1 each car passing through a tunnel.
Number of passengers 0 1 2 3 4
Frequency 18 20 11 7 4

From the data above, estimate the probability of each of

the following events.
(a) There is only one passenger in the next car.

(b) There are 2 or more passengers in the next car.

Solution Total frequency = 18 + 20 + 11 + 7 + 4 = 60

(a) Frequency with 1 passenger = 20

The required probability = 20

60

= 31

(b) Frequency with 2 or more passengers = 11 + 7 + 4

= 22
The required probability = 22
60
11
= 30

Instant Drill 6
The following table shows the numbers of goals scored by a football
player in some matches.
Number of goals 0 1 2 3
Number of matches 8 7 3 2

Estimate the probability of each of the following events.

(a) The player scores no goals in the next match.
(b) The player scores at least two goals in the next match.
➥ Ex 5A 15–17
 Probability 5.11

Class Practice 5.1

1. A number is chosen at random from the ten integers 1 to 10. Find the probability that an odd number is
chosen.

2. A letter is randomly chosen from the word ‘MATHEMATICS’. Find the probability of choosing each of
the following letters.
(a) ‘T’ (b) ‘F’

3. The following table shows the number of each kind of banknotes in Tony’s wallet.
Face value $10 $20 $50 $100
Number of banknotes 2 4 1 2

If Tony draws a banknote at random from his wallet, find the probability that the face value of the
banknote drawn is
(a) $100, (b) less than $50.

4. A drawing pin is thrown 50 times. The tip points up 32 times, while the tip touches the ground
18 times. From the data above, estimate the probability that the tip points up in the next throw.

Exercise 5A
Level 1

1. There are 6 folders on a table and 2 of them are yellow folders. If a

folder is randomly selected from the table, find the probability of
selecting a yellow folder.

2. There are four options in a multiple-choice question and only one

of them is correct. Ben selects one option at random. Find the
probability that a correct answer is selected.

3. There are 14 red bean ice cream lollies and 16 chocolate ice cream
lollies in a freezer. An ice cream lolly is chosen at random from the
freezer. Find the probability of each of the following events.
(a) A red bean ice cream lolly is chosen.

(b) A chocolate ice cream lolly is chosen.

5.12 Chapter 5

4. The following table shows the nationalities of the employees in a

company.
Nationality American Japanese Chinese
Frequency 2 6 10

If an employee is chosen at random from the company, find the

probability that the employee is
(a) American, (b) Chinese.

5. A letter is randomly chosen from the word ‘DIFFERENCE’. Find the

probability of choosing each of the following letters.
(a) ‘E’ (b) ‘F’ ➥ Example 1

6. Six cards are marked with the numbers 2, 3, 4, 4, 7 and 8 respectively.

If a card is selected at random, find the probability that the number
on the card selected is
(a) 4, (b) 7.

7. A fair dice is thrown. Find the probability of getting

(a) a ‘0’, (b) a number greater than 5.

8. 2▲ is a 2-digit number, where ▲ is an integer from 0 to 9 inclusive.

Find the probability that the 2-digit number is
(a) less than 29, (b) a multiple of 3. ➥ Example 2

9. A number is randomly selected from the 30 integers 1 to 30. Find the

probability that the number selected is
(a) a multiple of 5, (b) a multiple of 6.

10. A card is selected at random from the playing cards as shown below.

Find the probability of selecting

(a) a ‘4’,

(b) a ‘3’,

(c) a black card.

 Probability 5.13

11. There are 24 eggs inside a basket and two of them are rotten. If one
egg is taken out at random, find the probability that it is not rotten.

12. In a smartphone, there are 7 game apps, 8 entertainment apps and

5 education apps. If an app is randomly selected from the
smartphone, find the probability that the app selected is a game app
or an education app.

13. There are 3 red balls, 4 yellow balls and 2 black balls in a bag. If a
ball is drawn at random from the bag, find the probability that
(a) a black ball is drawn,

(b) the ball drawn is not a yellow ball,

(c) a blue ball is drawn.

14. The following table shows the years of production of 50 cars.

Year 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Number of cars 14 12 7 11 6

If a car is randomly selected, find the probability that the year of

production of the car selected is
(a) before 2020, (b) not 2016.

15. Johnson is a basketball player. The table below shows the numbers
of successful shots and unsuccessful shots that he makes in a
practice.
Outcome Successful shot Unsuccessful shot
Frequency 138 62

From the data above, estimate the probability that he makes a

successful shot in his next shot. ➥ Example 6

16. The table below shows the blood types of 112 blood donors in a
blood donation centre.
Blood type A B AB O
Number of donors 28 31 9 44

From the data above, estimate the probability that the blood type of
the next donor is
(a) type A, (b) type AB or O.
5.14 Chapter 5

17. A dice is thrown 120 times and the results are as follows:
Number obtained 1 2 3 4 5 6
Frequency 19 22 16 23 15 25

From the data above, estimate the probability of getting

(a) an odd number in the next throw,

(b) a number greater than 3 in the next throw.

Level 2

18. A number is randomly chosen from the numbers 20, 23, 27, 39, 42
and 51. Find the probability that
(a) the number chosen is an even number,

(b) the sum of the two digits of the number chosen is greater than 5.

19. Andy selects a day in November, 2018 at random and looks for the
November
news on the day selected. Find the probability that Andy selects
S M T W T F S
(a) the 4th of November, 1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10
(b) a Sunday,
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
(c) any day from Monday to Saturday.
18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30

20. A card is drawn at random from a pack of 52 playing cards. Find the
probability that the card drawn is
(a) a ‘K’, (b) black,
(c) a red ‘Q’, (d) a red club ‘A’. ➥ Example 5

21. There are 4 red star stickers, 7 yellow star stickers, 2 red round
stickers and 5 blue round stickers in a bag. If a sticker is drawn at
random from the bag, find the probability of drawing each of the
following stickers.
(a) a yellow star sticker (b) a red sticker
(c) a blue star sticker (d) a star or round sticker

22. A number is randomly selected from the integers 1 to 50 inclusive.

Find the probability that the number selected is
(a) a prime number, (b) an odd prime number,
(c) a multiple of 5 or a multiple of 7.
 Probability 5.15

23. Peter has 24 candies. 9 of them are chocolate candies, 8 are milk
candies, 3 are coconut candies and the rest are mint candies. He takes
one candy at random. Find the probability that the candy taken is
(a) a chocolate candy, (b) a mint candy,
(c) neither a chocolate candy nor a milk candy.

24. There are 15 balls in a bag, and n of them are red balls. If a ball is
drawn at random from the bag, the probability of drawing a red ball
is 31 . Find the value of n. ➥ Example 3

25. There are 9 cats and x dogs in a pet shop. If a pet is chosen at ◀

random from the pet shop, the probability of choosing a cat is 53 .

Find the value of x.

26. 8♦▲ is a 3-digit number, where ♦ and ▲ are integers from 0 to 9

inclusive. Find the probability that the 3-digit number is divisible by 10.

27. In a group of S3 students, the numbers of boys and girls who can or
cannot ride a bicycle are shown in the table below.

Can ride a bicycle Cannot ride a bicycle

Number of boys 22 18

Number of girls 15 20

If a student is randomly chosen from the group, find the probability

that the student
(a) is a boy who can ride a bicycle,

(b) is a girl,

(c) cannot ride a bicycle.

28. The figure shows the distribution of means of transport to school Means of transport to school
for S3A students. If a student is selected at random from the for S3A students

class, find the probability that the student goes to school

15
Number of students

(a) by minibus,
10
(b) not by bus. ➥ Example 4

0
Bus Minibus MTR Private
car
Means of transport
5.16 Chapter 5

29. The stem-and-leaf diagram on the right shows the Monthly salaries of all the
employees in a company
monthly salaries of all the employees in a company. If
an employee is randomly selected from the company, Stem ($10 000) Leaf ($1 000)
find the probability of each of the following events. 0 7 9
(a) The monthly salary of the employee is less than 1 0 2 6
$10 000. 2 1 3 3 4
(b) The monthly salary of the employee is more than 3
$40 000. 4 1

(c) The monthly salary of the employee is between

$20 000 and $40 000.

30. A shop owner buys a batch of watches. He randomly draws a watch

from the batch, checks if the watch is broken and puts the watch
back. After checking 100 times, 4 watches drawn are found to be
broken. From the data above, estimate the probability that a watch
randomly drawn from the batch is not broken.

Level 3

31. The table below shows the annual numbers of typhoons affecting a
city from 1970 to 2019.
Annual number
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
of typhoons
Number of years 2 3 6 10 x 6 6 3 2 1

From the data above, estimate the probability that there are
(a) 6 typhoons,

(b) more than 7 typhoons,

(c) at most 5 typhoons

affecting the city in a year.

32. A box contains x gold coins, y silver coins and 4 bronze coins, with
Explain
15 coins altogether. It is given that there are more gold coins than
silver coins in the box. If a coin is randomly chosen from the box,
Paul makes the following claim:
‘The probability of choosing a gold coin is not less than 0.4.’
Do you agree? Explain your answer.
 Probability 5.17

5.2 M
 ethods of Listing Possible Outcomes
In calculating the probability of an event, we need to know what all
the possible outcomes are. When the situation is complicated, we can
use some methods to list all the possible outcomes to avoid missing or
repeating some possible outcomes.

A Using Tree Diagrams

In a restaurant, a dinner set consists of a main course and a bowl of soup.
The choices for the main course and the soup are shown as follows.

Dinner Set
Main course: choose one
A B C

Beef steak Pork steak Chicken steak

Soup: choose one

X Y Z

Vegetable soup Cream soup Onion soup

In order to list all the possible outcomes systematically, we can draw the
following tree diagram.
Main course Soup Outcome
X . . . . . . AX ◀ AX means ‘beef steak + vegetable soup’,
AY means ‘beef steak + cream soup’, and
A Y . . . . . . AY
so on.
Z . . . . . . AZ

X . . . . . . BX
B Y . . . . . . BY
Z . . . . . . BZ

X . . . . . . CX
C Y . . . . . . CY
Z . . . . . . CZ

From the tree diagram, there are 9 possible outcomes. If both the main
course and the soup are randomly chosen, these 9 outcomes are equally
likely outcomes and the probability of choosing any one of them is 1 .
9

tree diagram
5.18 Chapter 5

Quick Quiz
Complete the following tree diagrams.
1. Two coins are tossed at the same time. 2. A letter is chosen from each of the words ‘OX’ and
(H stands for a head and T stands for a tail.) ‘PET’.
1st coin 2nd coin Outcome 1st letter 2nd letter Outcome

...... ......
H ......
...... ......

...... ......
T ......
...... ......

Example 7 There are 2 newborn babies. Assume that the probabilities

Level 1 of a newborn baby being a boy and a girl are equal. Find
the probability of each of the following events.
(a) Two babies are girls.

(b) One baby is a boy and one baby is a girl.

Solution Let B stand for a boy and G stand for a girl. Do’s and Don’ts
1st baby 2nd baby Outcome 2 boys 2 girls

B . . . . . . . . . BB
BB GG
B
G . . . . . . . . . BG BG GB

B . . . . . . . . . GB 1 boy and 1 girl

G BG and GB are two

G . . . . . . . . . GG different outcomes. Thus,
there are four equally likely
Total number of possible outcomes = 4 outcomes, but not three.

(a) Number of favourable outcomes = 1 ◀ The favourable outcome is GG.

P(2 girls) = 1
4

(b) Number of favourable outcomes = 2 ◀ The favourable outcomes are

BG and GB.
P(1 boy and 1 girl) = 2
4

= 1
2
 Probability 5.19

Instant Drill 7
There are two boxes. The first box contains a red ball and a green
ball. The second box contains a red ball, a green ball and a white ball.
If a ball is drawn at random from each box, find the probability of
each of the following events.
(a) Both balls are red.
(b) One ball is red and one ball is green.
➥ Ex 5B 1–6

Example 8 A model of cars is available in either black or green.

Level 2 A company buys three cars of this model and randomly
chooses the colours of the cars. Find the probability of
each of the following events.
(a) Two cars are black and one car is green.

(b) At least one car is green.

Solution Let B stand for a black car and G stand for a green car.
1st car 2nd car 3rd car Outcome
B . . . . . . . BBB
B
G . . . . . . . BBG ◀
B
B . . . . . . . BGB ◀ for (a)
G
G . . . . . . . BGG
for (b)
B . . . . . . . GBB ◀
B
G . . . . . . . GBG
G
B . . . . . . . GGB
G
G . . . . . . . GGG

Total number of possible outcomes = 8

(a) Number of favourable outcomes = 3 ◀ The favourable outcomes are
BBG, BGB and GBB.
P(2 black cars and 1 green car) = 83

(b) Number of favourable outcomes = 7 ◀ The favourable outcomes are

BBG, BGB, BGG, GBB,
P(at least 1 green car) = 87 GBG, GGB and GGG.

Instant Drill 8
Three fair coins are tossed. Find the probability of getting
(a) three heads,
(b) two heads and one tail,
(c) at least two tails.
➥ Ex 5B 12, 13
5.20 Chapter 5

B Using Tables
Consider Example 7 on P.5.18 again. Besides using a tree diagram, we
can also list all the possible outcomes in a table.

Tree diagram Table

1st baby 2nd baby Outcome 2nd baby

B ...... BB B G
B

1st baby
B BB BG
G ...... BG
G GB GG
B ...... GB
G
G ...... GG

Example 9 Two fair dice are thrown. Find the probability of each of Think
Level 2 the following events. Consider the two activities
‘throwing a fair dice twice’
(a) The numbers on both dice are prime numbers.
and ‘throwing two fair dice
(b) The sum of the numbers on the two dice is greater once’. Do they have the
than 10. same possible outcomes?

Solution Number on the 2nd dice

1 2 3 4 5 6
Number on the 1st dice

1 (1 , 1) (1 , 2) (1 , 3) (1 , 4) (1 , 5) (1 , 6) ◀ (1 , 6) denotes that the number

on the first dice is 1 and the
2 (2 , 1) (2 , 2) (2 , 3) (2 , 4) (2 , 5) (2 , 6) number on the second dice is 6.

3 (3 , 1) (3 , 2) (3 , 3) (3 , 4) (3 , 5) (3 , 6)

4 (4 , 1) (4 , 2) (4 , 3) (4 , 4) (4 , 5) (4 , 6)

5 (5 , 1) (5 , 2) (5 , 3) (5 , 4) (5 , 5) (5 , 6)

6 (6 , 1) (6 , 2) (6 , 3) (6 , 4) (6 , 5) (6 , 6)

Total number of possible outcomes = 36

(a) Number of favourable outcomes = 9 ◀ Note that 2, 3 and 5 are prime
numbers.
P(both are prime numbers) = 9
36

= 41
 Probability 5.21

(b) Number of favourable outcomes = 3

P(sum is greater than 10) = 3

36
1
= 12

Instant Drill 9
A box contains four cards numbered 1, 3, 5 and 8 respectively. One
card is randomly drawn and put back into the box, and then another
card is randomly drawn. Find the probability of each of the following
events.
(a) The numbers on the two cards are the same.
(b) The difference between the numbers on the two cards is 4. ➥ Ex 5B 14–16

(c) The sum of the numbers on the two cards is not less than 9. Public Exam 4
Question

Example 10 There are two cookbooks and two detective novels on a

Level 2 shelf. Sophie randomly chooses two books at the same
time from the shelf. Find the probability of each of the
following events.
(a) Sophie chooses two detective novels.

(b) Sophie chooses one cookbook and one detective novel.

Solution Clue
All the possible outcomes can
Since two books are randomly chosen at the same time, a also be found by a tree diagram:
book cannot be chosen twice. 1st book 2nd book Outcome
C2 . . . . . . C1C2
Let C1, C2 stand for the two cookbooks and D1, D2 stand ◀ C1 D1 . . . . . . C1D1
for the two detective novels. D2 . . . . . . C 1D2

2nd book
C1 . . . . . . C2C1
C1 C2 D1 D2 C2 D1 . . . . . . C 2D1

C1 ✗ C 1C2 C1D1 C1D2 D2 . . . . . . C2D2

1st book

C2 C2C1 ✗ C2D1 C2D2 C1 . . . . . . D1C1

D1 C2 . . . . . . D 1C2
D1 D1C1 D1C2 ✗ D1D2
D2 . . . . . . D1D2
D2 D2C1 D2C2 D2D1 ✗
C1 . . . . . . D 2C1

Total number of possible outcomes = 12 D2 C2 . . . . . . D2C2

D1 . . . . . . D2D1
5.22 Chapter 5

(a) Number of favourable outcomes = 2

P(two detective novels) = 2

12

= 61

(b) Number of favourable outcomes = 8

P(one cookbook and one detective novel)
= 8
12

= 23

Instant Drill 10
Two letters are randomly selected at the same time from the word
‘APPLE’. Find the probability that
(a) both letters selected are ‘P’,
(b) an ‘A’ is selected,
(c) the two letters selected are different.
➥ Ex 5B 17, 18

Think
A box contains 7 cards as shown below.

4 red cards, 2 green cards and 1 blue card

Miss Chan randomly takes 3 cards at the same time from the box.

Please list all the Okay. Let me count.

possible outcomes.

Miss Chan Peter

Which method, a tree diagram or a table, should Peter use?
 Probability 5.23

Class Practice 5.2

1. Tony randomly selects a letter from each of the words ‘NO’ and
‘NOW’. Use a tree diagram to find the probability of each of the
following events.
(a) Tony selects two ‘N’s.

(b) Tony selects one ‘N’ and one ‘O’.

2. There are three apple pies and two red bean pies. Janet randomly
selects two pies at the same time. Use a table to find the probability
of each of the following events.
(a) Janet selects two apple pies.

(b) Janet selects at least one red bean pie.

Exercise 5B
Level 1

Use tree diagrams to solve the following problems. [Nos. 1–6]

1. A fair coin is tossed 2 times. Find the probability that two tails are
obtained. ➥ Example 7

2. There are 2 newborn babies. Assume that the probabilities of a

newborn baby being a boy and a girl are equal. Find the probability
that only one of them is a girl.

3. Benny has a $10 banknote and a $20 banknote in his wallet. Charles
has a $20 banknote, a $50 banknote and a $100 banknote in his
wallet. Each of them randomly draws a banknote from their own
wallets. Find the probability that they draw banknotes with the same
face value.

4. A building has three lifts A, B and C. Karen randomly chooses one of

the lifts to go to her office each working day. Find the probability
that Karen chooses
(a) the same lift in two working days,

(b) lifts A and B in two working days.

5.24 Chapter 5

5. David and Carmen can choose to go to school by bus, minibus or MTR.

Suppose each of them randomly chooses a mean of transport today.
Find the probability of each of the following events.
(a) Both of them go to school by minibus.

(b) Only one of them goes to school by MTR.

6. Cherry and Patrick each randomly choose one among cakes, biscuits
and sandwiches for tea. Find the probability of each of the following
events.
(a) One of them chooses cakes and the other one chooses
sandwiches.
(b) None of them choose biscuits.

Use tables to solve the following problems. [Nos. 7–11]

7. A letter is randomly selected from each of the two words ‘DO’ 2nd letter
and ‘DRY’. Find the probability that the two letters selected are
D R Y
different.

1st letter
D

8. A restaurant provides three kinds of breakfast: A, B and C. Ada and

Becky each randomly choose one of them. Find the probability that
they choose the same kind of breakfast.

9. Box A contains 1 English book and 2 Chinese books. Box B contains

2 English books and 1 Chinese book. If one book is taken out from
each box at random, find the probability of each of the following
events.
(a) An English book is taken out from box A and a Chinese book is
taken out from box B.
(b) A Chinese book and an English book are taken out.

10. There are two multiple-choice questions. Each question has four
options and only one of them is correct. Teddy answers each
question by selecting one option at random. Find the probability of
each of the following events.
(a) Teddy answers both questions correctly.

(b) Teddy answers only one question correctly.

 Probability 5.25

11. The numbers 1, 3 and 6 are written on three red balls respectively.
The numbers 2, 4, 6 and 7 are written on four green balls 1 3 6
respectively. If one red ball and one green ball are drawn at random,
find the probability that the numbers on the balls
2 4 6 7
(a) are the same,

(b) have a sum of 7,

(c) differ by 1.

Level 2

12. In a cinema, Harry randomly chooses a movie from movies A and B,

while Ron randomly chooses a movie from movies A, B and C. Find
the probability that
(a) both of them choose movie A,

(b) at least one of them chooses movie B. ➥ Example 8

13. Kathy, Carol and Morris each randomly decide whether to visit a
park or not. Find the probability that
(a) all of them visit the park,

(b) at least two of them visit the park.

14. Two fair dice are thrown. Find the probability of each of the
following events.
(a) The sum of the two numbers is odd.

(b) The difference of the two numbers is a factor of 4. ➥ Example 9

15. Winnie and John donate money on a flag day. Winnie has one
$10 coin and three $2 coins while John has two $5 coins and two
$2 coins. If each of them takes out one coin at random to buy a
flag, find the probability that
(a) they donate $15 altogether,

(b) the total amount of donation is less than $12.

5.26 Chapter 5

16. A box contains 5 toy cars which are red, orange, yellow, green and
blue respectively. A toy car is drawn at random and put back into the
box. Then another toy car is drawn at random. Find the probability
of getting
(a) the orange car twice,

(b) the car of the same colour twice,

(c) the red car at least once.

17. There are 1 violet cup, 1 blue cup and 2 green cups on a table. Two
cups are randomly drawn at the same time from the table. Find the
probability of getting
(a) two green cups,

(b) one violet cup and one green cup,

(c) two cups of different colours. ➥ Example 10

18. Two letters are randomly selected at the same time from the word
‘ACCESS’. Find the probability that
(a) the letters selected are the same,

(b) at least one ‘S’ is selected.

19. ▲■ is a 2-digit number, where ▲ is an odd number from 0 to

9 inclusive and ■ is an integer from 0 to 4 inclusive. Find the
probability that the 2-digit number is
(a) a multiple of 5, (b) a multiple of 3.

Level 3

20. The unit prices of some items are shown below.

Ruler ............................ $5
Colour pen .................. $8
Exercise book ............. $10

There are two $2 coins, three $5 coins and one $10 coin in a wallet.
Two coins are randomly drawn at the same time from the wallet.
Find the probability that the total amount of the coins drawn is
enough to buy
(a) a ruler, (b) a colour pen,
(c) a ruler and an exercise book.
 Probability 5.27

✂ 5.3 Expected Values

A Expected Number of Occurrences
When a fair coin is tossed 200 times, it is equally likely to get a head and
a tail each time. We expect that heads and tails each will occur nearly
a200 # 1 k times, i.e. 100 times.
2

Similarly, when a fair dice is thrown 300 times, we expect that each Head Tail

number from 1 to 6 will occur nearly a300 # 1 k times, i.e. 50 times.

6

In general:

If the probability of an event is p, then we expect after n trials, this

event will occur np times.

Quick
Example Peter throws a dart at a target 40 times. If the probability that Quick Quiz
he hits the target each time is 0.37, Jane makes 100 cakes in
the expected number of times that he hits the target a week. If the probability
= 40 # 0.37 that she overcooks a cake
= 14.8 ◀ The expected number of
is 0.025, find the expected
occurrences may not be an number of cakes that she
integer. overcooks in that week.

Example 11 A fair dice is thrown 30 times. Find the expected number

Level 1 of times of getting a ‘2’ or a ‘3’.

Solution P(getting a ‘2’ or a ‘3’) = 1 + 1

6
= 1
3
Expected number of times of getting a ‘2’ or a ‘3’
= 30 # 1
3
= 10

Instant Drill 11
A fair dice is thrown 50 times. Find the expected number of times of
getting an even number.
➥ Ex 5C 3–5
5.28 Chapter 5

B Expected Values

Class Activity 5.1 Class e-Activity

In a test, there are 40 multiple-choice questions. Each question has

four options, and only one of them is correct. The score for each
question is given according to the following table.

Correct answer Wrong answer Not answering

4 -1 0

Suppose Paul answers each of the 40 questions by choosing one

option at random.
1. For each question, what are the probabilities that Paul gets a
correct answer and a wrong answer respectively?
P(a correct answer) =
P(a wrong answer) =

2. What are the expected numbers of correct and wrong answers that
Paul gets respectively?
Expected number of correct answers = 40 # =
Expected number of wrong answers = 40 # =

3. Based on the results of Question 2, what is the total score that

you expect Paul to obtain in the test?
Total score obtained in the test = 4 # + (-1) #
=

4. On average, what is the score that you expect Paul to obtain in

each question?
( )
Score obtained in each question =
( )
=

In Class Activity 5.1, the value obtained in Question 4 is called the

expected value of the score obtained in each question.

expected value
 Probability 5.29

In fact, the expected value of the score obtained in each question can be
found as follows:

Possible outcome Correct answer Wrong answer

Score 4 -1
1 3
Probability 4 4

Expected number of occurrences 40 # 1 40 # 3

4 4

4 # 40 # 1 + (-1) # 40 # 3 ◀ Expected value of total score

Expected value = 4 4
40 ◀ Total number of questions
40 94 # 1 + (-1) # 3 C
4 4
=
40

= 4 # 41 + (-1) # 43 ◀ The number of questions

does NOT affect this value.
= 0.25
In general:

Consider an activity with n possible outcomes, and the values obtained

from the possible outcomes are x1, x2, g, xn respectively.
If the probabilities of the occurrences of these possible outcomes are
p1, p2, g, pn respectively, then
expected value for the activity = x1p1 + x2p2 + g + xn pn

Quick
Example Mr Wong joins a lucky draw. The table on the right shows the Possible First Second Third
prizes and the corresponding probabilities of winning these outcome prize prize prize
prizes. Prize $1 000 $400 $100
Expected value of the prize that Mr Wong gets Probability 0.001 0.002 0.005
= $(1 000 # 0.001 + 400 # 0.002 + 100 # 0.005)
= $2.3

Quick Quiz
The following table shows the points that a football team can get in a match
from different results and the corresponding probabilities.

Possible outcome Win Draw Loss

Points 3 1 0

Probability 0.5 0.2 0.3

Find the expected value of the points that the team gets in the match.
5.30 Chapter 5

Example 12 A fair dice is thrown once. Find the expected value of the
Level 1 number obtained.

Solution All the possible outcomes and the corresponding

probabilities are as follows: The expected value 3.5
means that if the dice is
Number obtained 1 2 3 4 5 6 thrown repeatedly, the
average of the numbers
1 1 1 1 1 1
Probability 6 6 6 6 6 6 obtained in all throws will
get closer to 3.5.
Expected value of the number obtained
= 1 # 61 + 2 # 61 + 3 # 61 + 4 # 61 + 5 # 61 + 6 # 61
= 3.5

Instant Drill 12
The weights of 5 table tennis players in a team are 60 kg, 63 kg,
66 kg, 70 kg and 73 kg. If a player is chosen from the team at random,
find the expected value of the weight of the player.
➥ Ex 5C 8–10

Example 13 A bag contains 1 red ball, 3 yellow balls and 8 orange

Level 2 balls. In a game, a player draws a ball at random from the
Explain bag. A prize will be given to the player according to the
table below.

Colour Red Yellow Orange

Prize $30 $20 $6

(a) Find the expected value of the prize that a player gets
in the game.
(b) If the cost of playing the game once is $10, is the
game favourable to the player? Explain your answer.

Solution (a) Total number of possible outcomes = 1 + 3 + 8

= 12
P(red ball) = 1
12

P(yellow ball) = 3 = 1
12 4

P(orange ball) = 8 = 2
12 3
Expected value of the prize that a player gets
= $ a30 # 1 + 20 # 1 + 6 # 2 k
12 4 3
= $11.5
 Probability 5.31

(b) Clue
To determine whether a game is favourable to the player,
we will compare the cost and the expected value of the
prize obtained:
If cost 1 expected value, then the game is favourable to
the player.
If cost = expected value, then the game is fair.
If cost 2 expected value, then the game is unfavourable
to the player.

a $10 < $11.5

` The cost of playing the game is less than the
expected value of the prize that a player gets in
the game.
` The game is favourable to the player.

Instant Drill 13
A box contains 1 red card, 5 yellow cards and 94 white cards. In a
game, a participant randomly draws a card from the box. A prize will
be given to the participant according to the table below.

Colour Red Yellow White

Prize $100 $30 $0

(a) Find the expected value of the prize that a participant gets in the
game.
(b) If the cost of playing the game once is $3, is the game favourable ➥ Ex 5C 15, 16

to the participant? Explain your answer. Public Exam 10

Question

Class Practice 5.3

1. There are 2 500 electors in a district. If the probability that an elector
votes in an election is 0.32, find the expected number of electors in
the district who vote in the election.

2. Five cards are marked with 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 respectively. A card is

drawn from them at random. Find the expected value of the number
on the card.

3. In a game, a player throws a fair dice. $60 is awarded for a ‘5’, $10
is awarded for an even number, and no prize for other numbers. Find
the expected value of the prize that a player obtains in the game.
5.32 Chapter 5

✂ Exercise 5C
Level 1

1. An unfair coin is tossed 80 times. If the probability of getting a tail in

each toss is 0.4, find the expected number of times of getting a tail.

2. A factory produces 300 new toys. If the probability that a new toy
passes the safety test is 0.95, find the expected number of new toys
that pass the safety test.

3. A fair dice is thrown 900 times. Find the expected number of times of
obtaining
(a) ‘1’,

(b) a number greater than 4. ➥ Example 11

4. There are 8 red marbles and 12 green marbles in a bag. Sam repeats
the following action 360 times:
‘Draw a marble from the bag at random and put it back to the bag.’
Find the expected number of times of getting a red marble.

5. There are 1 200 students in a school. Find the expected number

of students born in November or December. (Assume that the
probabilities of a student born in each month are equal.)

6. Annie joins a lucky draw. The following table shows the prizes and the
corresponding probabilities of winning these prizes.

Possible outcome Big prize Medium prize Small prize

Prize $1 000 $300 $20

Probability 0.05 0.2 0.6

Find the expected value of the prize that Annie gets in the draw.

7. Fiona makes an investment. It is given that the probabilities of gaining

$50 000, gaining $10 000 and losing $30 000 are 0.25, 0.45
and 0.3 respectively. Find the expected value of her gain from the
investment.
 Probability 5.33

8. In a game, a player tosses a fair coin once. If a head is obtained, the

player gets $50. Otherwise, the player gets $10. Find the expected
value of the amount that a player gets in the game. ➥ Example 12

9. The figure shows some number balls. If a ball is drawn from them at
2 3
random, find the expected value of the number on the ball.

5 7

10. Susan randomly draws a card from 4 cards marked with letters ‘A’,
‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ respectively. A score will be given to her according
to the table below.

Letter A B C D

Score 5 -10 20 -2

Find the expected value of the score that Susan gets.

11. A wallet contains three $20 banknotes, five $50 banknotes and two
$100 banknotes. A banknote is randomly drawn from the wallet.
(a) Complete the following table.

Banknote drawn $20 $50 $100

Probability

(b) Find the expected face value of the banknote drawn.

Level 2

12. The table below shows the ages of students in a tutorial centre.

Age 14 15 16 17

Number of students 3 9 12 6

If a student is randomly selected from the tutorial centre, find the

expected value of the age of the student.

13. In a game, a player randomly draws a card from a pack of

52 playing cards. 8 points are awarded for a ‘K’, while 5 points are
deducted for other cards. Find the expected value of the points that a
player gets.
5.34 Chapter 5

14. In a pocket, there are one $2 coin and two $5 coins. Two coins are
randomly drawn at the same time from the pocket.
(a) Use a table to list all the possible outcomes.

(b) Hence, find the expected total face value of the coins drawn.

15. There are 9 red balls, 7 yellow balls and 4 blue balls in a bag. In
a game, Jeff randomly draws a ball from the bag. It is given that
10 tokens are awarded for a red ball, 50 tokens for a yellow ball and
100 tokens for a blue ball.
(a) Find the expected number of tokens that Jeff gets in this game.
Explain (b) If the cost of playing the game once is 40 tokens, is the game
favourable to Jeff? Explain your answer. ➥ Example 13

16. In a game, a participant throws a fair dice. If the number obtained is

n, then a prize of $2n will be awarded.
(a) Find the expected value of the prize that a participant gets in
the game.
Explain (b) If the cost of joining the game once is $10, is the game
favourable to the participant? Explain your answer.

17. Frank is doing a multiple-choice test paper. Each question has

Explain
four options, among which only one is correct. The mark for each
question is given according to the following marking scheme.
2 marks are awarded for a correct answer,
1 mark is deducted for a wrong answer,
2
no mark is awarded for not answering.
If Frank does not know the correct answer of a question, should he choose
the answer randomly or skip the question? Explain your answer.

Level 3

18. In a dice game, a player first pays $10 to enter the game and
two fair dice are then thrown. If the sum of the numbers obtained
is smaller than or equal to 5, the player is awarded with $20.
Otherwise, the player will be awarded with $n.
Explain (a) If n = 2, find the expected value of the reward for the player. Is
the game favourable to the player? Explain your answer.
(b) If n is an integer, find the least value of n such that the game is
favourable to the player.
 Probability 5.35

Chapter Summary Studying

Tips

Note Example

1. Probability
(a) In an activity, suppose all the possible A number is selected at random from the ten
outcomes are equally likely outcomes, then integers 0 to 9.
the probability of an event E, denoted by P(an even number is selected)
P(E), is defined as
number of outcomes favourable to E = 5
P(E) = 10 Even
0 1 2 3 4
total number of possible outcomes numbers
= 1
(b) P(impossible event) = 0, 2
5 6 7 8 9
P(certain event) = 1.
(c) For any event E, 0 G P(E) G 1.

2. Relative Frequency
Relative frequency of an event E A coin is tossed 100 times and a head is
obtained 36 times.
= number of times that event E happens
number of trials
The probability of obtaining a head in the next
We may use relative frequency to estimate the toss is estimated as follows:
probability of an event.
P(head) = 36
100

= 9
25

3. Tree Diagrams and Tables

(a) We may draw a tree diagram to list all the A couple plans to have two children. Assume
possible outcomes. that the probabilities of a newborn baby being a
boy and a girl are equal.
Let B stand for a boy and G stand for a girl.
The tree diagram below shows all the possible
outcomes of the genders of the children.
1st child 2nd child Outcome
B ...... BB
B
G ...... BG
B ...... GB
G
G ...... GG

P(two boys) = 1
4
5.36 Chapter 5

Note Example

(b) We may use a table to list all the possible Two letters are randomly chosen at the same
outcomes. time from the word ‘BOY’. Using a table, all
the possible outcomes are listed as follows:
2nd letter
B O Y
B ✗ BO BY

1st letter
O OB ✗ OY
Y YB YO ✗

P(‘O’ and ‘Y’ are chosen) = 2

6

= 1
3

✂ 4. Expected Value
(a) If the probability of an event is p, then we In answering a true or false question randomly,
expect after n trials, this event will occur
P(getting a correct answer) = 21
np times.
Hence, in answering 20 true or false questions
randomly,
expected number of correct answers
= 20 # 21

= 10
(b) Consider an activity with n possible A pocket contains two $10 notes, two $50
outcomes, and the values obtained from notes and one $100 note. If a banknote is
the possible outcomes are x 1, x 2, g, x n randomly drawn from the pocket, then
respectively. expected face value of the banknote drawn
If the probabilities of the occurrences of = $ a10 # 2 + 50 # 2 + 100 # 1 k
5 5 5
these possible outcomes are p1, p2, g, pn
= $44
respectively, then
expected value for the activity
= x 1p1 + x 2 p2 + g + x n pn
 Probability 5.37

✔ Checkpoint
1. In each of the following, put ‘✓’ in if it is correct, and ‘✗’ if it is wrong.
(a) A fair dice is thrown. The probability of getting a ‘2’ is 1 .
6
(b) There are 8 possible outcomes in tossing 3 fair coins at the same time.

(c) A fair dice is thrown 24 times. A ‘5’ must be obtained 4 times.

2. A box contains 12 chocolate cakes, 5 fruit cakes and 3 cheese cakes. A cake is randomly
selected from the box. Find the probability of selecting
(a) a chocolate cake,

(b) a cheese cake.

3. The table below shows the daily numbers of customers in a restaurant over the last
100 days.

Daily number of customers 300 or below more than 300

Frequency 95 5

From the data above, estimate the probability that there will be more than 300 customers in
the restaurant tomorrow.

4. Bag A contains 3 cards numbered 1, 2 and 3 respectively. Bag B contains 3 cards numbered
4, 5 and 6 respectively. A card is randomly drawn from each bag.
(a) Use a table to list all the possible outcomes.

(b) Find the probability that the sum of the numbers drawn is greater than 8.

✂ 5. In a game, the probabilities that David wins a $50 coupon, a $100 coupon and a $200
coupon are 0.4, 0.5 and 0.1 respectively. Find the expected face value of the coupon that
David wins.
5.38 Chapter 5

Supplementary Exercise 5
Level 1

1. A digit is randomly chosen from the telephone number 2618 3211.

Find the probability of each of the following events.
(a) The digit chosen is ‘2’.

(b) The digit chosen is an even number.

2. A letter is randomly chosen from the word ‘DEFINITION’. Find the

probability of getting a vowel. (Note: A vowel is A, E, I, O or U.)

3. Flora bought a box of candies. The number of each type of candies in

the box is as follows:

Candy Apple-flavoured Lime-flavoured Mango-flavoured

Number of
8 20 22
candies

A candy is randomly chosen from the box. Find the probability that it
is an apple-flavoured candy.

4. A fair dice is thrown once. Find the probability of getting a number

(a) from 1 to 6 inclusive, (b) greater than 6,
(c) which is not 2, (d) not less than 3.

5. 21✸ is a three-digit number, where ✸ is an integer from 0 to 9

inclusive. Find the probability of each of the following events.
(a) The three-digit number is a multiple of 3.

(b) All the 3 digits of the three-digit number are different.

6. A card is randomly drawn from a pack of 52 playing cards. Find the

probability that the card drawn is
(a) a ‘7’ or a ‘9’, (b) a black ‘K’.

7. When a paper cup is thrown, it may land on its side, on its base or
on its top. A paper cup is thrown 100 times and the results are as
follows:

Outcome Side Base Top

Frequency 66 8 26

From the data above, estimate the probability that the cup lands on its
top or on its base in the next throw.
 Probability 5.39

8. The frequency distribution table below shows the weights of 100 pigs
inspected on a farm.

Weight (kg) 1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30

Frequency 4 22 32 k 8 6

(a) Find the value of k.

(b) From the data above, estimate the probability that the weight
of the next pig to be inspected on the farm belongs to the group
16 kg-20 kg.

9. The table below shows the types of fuel used by vehicles passing
through a road during the last hour.

Type of fuel Diesel Petrol LPG Electric

Number of vehicles 65 82 18 35

From the data above, estimate the probability that the next vehicle
passing through the road is not an electric vehicle.

In each of the following, use a tree diagram or a table to list all the
possible outcomes and find the probability. [Nos. 10–13]
10. A letter is randomly chosen from each of the two words ‘AT’ and
‘TO’. Find the probability that the two letters chosen are the same.

11. A bag contains one red hat, one blue hat and one yellow hat. A hat
is randomly drawn and put back into the bag, then another hat is
randomly drawn from the bag. Find the probability of each of the
following events.
(a) Two yellow hats are drawn.

(b) The colours of the two hats drawn are different.

12. Two numbers are randomly selected at the same time from the four
integers 6, 7, 8 and 9. Find the probability that the two numbers
selected are consecutive integers.

13. In a school, students are randomly assigned to the Red, Blue, Yellow
and Green Houses when they are admitted to S1. Peter and Betty
are admitted to S1 in this school. Find the probability that they are
assigned to
(a) the Red House, (b) the same house,
(c) two different houses.
5.40 Chapter 5

✂ 14. Three fair coins are tossed together 40 times. Find the expected
number of times of getting three tails.

✂ 15. In a rural area, the probability that a letter is successfully delivered

is 0.98. If the post office in that area handled 3 276 000 letters this
year, find the expected number of
(a) successful deliveries,

(b) unsuccessful deliveries.

✂ 16. In a singing contest, the prizes for the champion, the first runner-up
and the second runner-up are $5 000, $3 000 and $1 000 respectively.
Suppose Jack joins the contest and the probabilities that he becomes the
champion, the first runner-up and the second runner-up are 0.1, 0.3 and
0.5 respectively. Find the expected value of the prize that Jack gets.

✂ 17. A number is randomly chosen from the four numbers 2, 5, 8 and 10.
Find the expected value of the number chosen.

Level 2

18. A number is chosen from the 40 integers 11 to 50 at random. Find

the probability that
(a) the number is a multiple of 5,

(b) the number is a square number,

(c) the sum of the two digits of the number is 6.

19. There are 42 students in S3C. 1 of them cannot swim, 4 can swim
7 7
breaststroke only, 1 can do the front crawl only, and the rest of
6
them can swim in both styles. If a student is randomly selected from
the class, find the probability that the student
(a) can swim,

(b) can swim in both styles.

20. A bag contains 45 black balls and white balls altogether. If a ball
is drawn from the bag at random, the probability of getting a white
ball is 3 . Find the number of black balls in the bag.
5

21. There are some pens and pencils in a box. If one of them is randomly
Open-
ended
selected from the box, the probability of selecting a pen is 3 . Write
10
down two sets of possible numbers of pens and pencils.
 Probability 5.41

22. The bar chart on the right shows the seasons of birth of the students Seasons of birth of
the students in a school
in a school. A student is randomly selected from the school. 400

Number of students
Find the probability of each of the following events.
300
(a) The student was born in summer.
200
(b) The student was not born in winter.
100

Summer

Autumn

Winter
Spring
Season of birth

23. The pie chart on the right shows the distribution of the methods Methods of going to work

of going to work by a group of residents. A resident is randomly

selected from the group. Find the probability of each of the Bicycle
20° MTR
following events. Taxi 135°

(a) The resident goes to work by MTR. 15°

Private
car 45°
(b) The resident goes to work by bus or by minibus. Bus
Minibus
(c) The resident goes to work by private car.

bHint: l
Frequency of an item corresponding angle of sector
=
Total frequency of all items 360c

24. Among the 36 students in S3B, 14 of them join the Computer Club
and 10 of them join the Science Club. It is given that 3 students in
the class join both clubs. If a student is randomly selected from the
class, find the probability of each of the following events.
(a) The student joins the Science Club.

(b) The student joins neither of the two clubs.

25. There are x travel books, some Chinese storybooks and some English
storybooks on a shelf. It is known that there are 19 storybooks in
total. If a book is randomly taken from the shelf, the probability of
taking a travel book is 7 .
26
(a) Find the value of x.

(b) A travel book is taken away and another book is chosen at

random. The probability of choosing a Chinese storybook is 9 .

25
Find the number of English storybooks on the shelf.
5.42 Chapter 5

26. From a batch of watermelons, 160 of them are selected and tested
for their pesticide level. The following table shows the results of the
tests.

Pesticide level Low Medium High

Frequency 96 x y

(a) From the data above, estimate the probability that a randomly
selected watermelon in the batch has a low pesticide level.
(b) It is given that using the data above, the probability that the
pesticide level of a randomly selected watermelon in the batch
is not high is estimated to be 19 . Find the values of x and y.
20

27. Two dice are thrown together 200 times. The sum of the two
numbers obtained each time is recorded as follows:

Sum of
the two 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
numbers

Frequency 5 11 16 24 x 34 26 20 17 12 6

(a) Find the value of x.

(b) The two dice are thrown together one more time. From the data
above, estimate the probability of each of the following events.
(i) The sum of the two numbers is greater than 8.
(ii) The sum of the two numbers is greater than 5 but less than 9.

28. A letter is randomly chosen from each of the words ‘FREE’ and
‘BEEF’. Find the probability that
(a) the two letters chosen are the same,

(b) no letter ‘E’ is chosen.

29. There are three paths A, B and C connecting two places P and Q. A
Kelly walks from P to Q and Thomas walks from Q to P. Suppose
each of them randomly chooses a path. Find the probability of each B
P Q
of the following events.
C
(a) Both of them choose path B.

(b) They choose the same path.

(c) One of them chooses path A and the other chooses path C.

pesticide
 Probability 5.43

30. Paul and Mary have drinks in a restaurant. Each of them selects a
drink from milk tea, green tea or lemon tea. Each type of tea can be
hot or cold. If they select drinks at random, find the probability that
(a) only one of them selects green tea (either hot or cold),

(b) they select the same kind of tea (either hot or cold),

(c) one of them selects cold milk tea, and the other selects a hot drink.

31. Let A and B be two different integers randomly selected from the
4 integers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Find the probability that
(a) A is not less than 2, (b) A - B is a positive number.
B A+B

32. A box contains 2 green balls and 2 black balls. Two balls are
randomly drawn from the box one by one without replacement. ◀ ‘Without replacement’ means
that the ball drawn is not put
(a) Find the probability that back.
(i) the two balls are of the same colour,
(ii) the two balls are of different colours.

(b) After drawing the two balls, one more ball is randomly drawn
from the box. Find the probability that two green balls appear
consecutively according to the drawing sequence.

✂ 33. There are 4 red packets. One of them contains a $50 note and each
of the rest contains a $20 note.
(a) If Carmen randomly selects a red packet, what is the expected
value of the money she will receive?
(b) If Carmen randomly selects two red packets at the same time,
what is the expected value of the money she will receive?

✂ 34. Two organizations hold poster design competitions A and B

Explain
independently. The prizes of the competitions are as follows:
Prize Competition A Competition B
Champion $2 000 $1 000

Merit prize $500 $200

Henry estimates the winning probabilities as follows:

Prize Competition A Competition B
Champion 0.1 0.2

Merit prize 0.3 0.5

It is given that Henry can only participate in one competition. If he

wants to get a prize with more cash award, which competition
should he participate in? Explain your answer.
5.44 Chapter 5

✂ 35. Miss Kwok wants to buy medical insurance. The insurance premium
Explain
is $2 000 per year. The table below shows her annual medical
expenditure and the estimation of the corresponding probabilities.

Annual medical
$3 500 $2 500 $1 500 $500
expenditure

Probability 5% 20% 60% 15%

Suppose the insurance policy can cover her annual medical

expenditure. The insurance company claims that the expected annual
medical expenditure of Miss Kwok is more than the insurance
premium. Do you agree? Explain your answer.

Level 3

36. A bank robber is escaping from the crime scene. Initially, he is in a N

car at the position X as shown on the map. When he arrives at each
junction, he randomly chooses to turn left, turn right or go straight
X
ahead. A police car is at the junction marked with the ‘ ’. After the
robber has passed two junctions, what is the probability that he is
driving
(a) due south?

(b) towards the police car at the next junction?

(c) due east?

✂ 37. At a cake shop, the number of birthday cakes sold in one day and the
corresponding probabilities are shown in the table below:
Number of birthday
0 1 2 3 4 5 or above
cakes sold
Probability 0.1 a 0.35 b 0.2 0

It is known that the expected number of birthday cakes sold in one day
is 2.25 and the sum of the above probabilities is 1.
(a) Set up two equations in unknowns a and b.

(b) Find the values of a and b.

 Probability 5.45

Multiple-choice Questions

38. Which of the following cannot be the 42. A coin is tossed 400 times and a head is
probability of an event? obtained 228 times. From the data above,
A. 0 C. -0.3 estimate the probability of obtaining a tail
in the next toss.
B. r D. 2 019
6 2 020 A. 0.27
39. A letter is randomly chosen from ‘OPEN B. 0.34
SESAME’. The probability of choosing a C. 0.43
consonant (i.e. letters other than ‘A’, ‘E’, D. 0.64
‘I’, ‘O’ and ‘U’) is
43. A box contains two red balls and two green
3
A. 10 . C. 21 . balls. If two balls are randomly drawn from
3 the box at the same time, the probability of
B. 2
5
. D. 5 .
getting two green balls is
40. A card is randomly drawn from a pack of A. 61 .
52 playing cards. Find the probability that a
1.
B. 4
heart or a face card is drawn.
1
A. 4 11
C. 26 C. 31 .
19 8
B. 52 D. 13 D. 21 .

41. The surface of a cube is painted and it is 44. Two balls are randomly drawn at the same
cut into 64 identical small cubes as shown time from six balls numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
in the figure. and 7 respectively. Find the probability that
the sum of the numbers on the two balls
drawn is 7.
A. 1
9

B. 1
15

C. 2
Find the probability that a randomly selected 15
small cube has three faces being painted.
D. 1
18
A. 1
16
✂
45. The probability that a zip produced by
B. 1
8 a factory is faulty is 0.001. If 500 zips
C. 1 produced by this factory are tested, find the
4
expected number of faulty zips found.
D. 1
2 A. 0
B. 0.05
C. 0.5
D. 1
5.46 Chapter 5

✂
46. Sam tosses three fair coins at the same
✂
47. There are 20 multiple-choice questions
time. Suppose that he gets 10 points for in a test. Each question has 4 options and
each head obtained and no points for each only 1 of them is correct. Leo answers each
tail obtained. Find the expected value of the question by choosing an option at random. If
total number of points obtained by Sam. 1 mark will be awarded for a correct answer
A. 9 and no marks will be deducted for a wrong
B. 10 answer, find the expected value of the mark
C. 12 that Leo gets in the test.
D. 15 A. 0
B. 0.25
C. 2
D. 5

✂ Application of Maths
Risk Assessment
In engineering, it is common to evaluate risks of a project with
expected values.
Firstly, all possible adverse events are determined. Then, the
probability that each adverse event occurs and the loss due to the
occurrence of the event are assessed. Finally, calculate the expected
loss and it can reflect the degree of risk of the project.
What is the chance of volcano
eruption in a certain year?

Q&A Suppose you are evaluating the risk of riding a bicycle

and the following information is provided.

Number of
Adverse event Probability people injured in
the event

Tire blowout 0.001 0.8

Brake failure 0.000 5 2.3

Gear failure 0.002 0.4

If the expected number of people injured is below 0.003, then it is said to be safe to
ride this bicycle. Is it safe to ride this bicycle?
 Probability 5.47

Exam Get - Set -

Expert
Short Question Tutor Tutor

Example 1
The following pie chart shows the distribution of the kinds of factories in a city.
Kinds of factories in a city

Cloth
Phone

Toy 78°
a

192°

Food

If a factory is randomly selected from the city, the probability of selecting a cloth factory is 3 .
20
(a) Find a. (2 marks)
(b) If a factory is randomly selected from the city, find the probability that a toy factory or a food
factory is selected. (2 marks)

Solution
(a) a P(a cloth factory) = 3 If an item is randomly
20 Pie chart selected from all the
items A and B, the
` 360c - 192c - 78c - a = 3 1 f or correct
360c 20 probability of selecting
equation item B
an item A is x .
90c - a = 3 # 360c 360c
20
x
90c - a = 54c
item A
a = 36c 1 f or correct
answer
(b) The required probability
= P(a toy factory or a food factory)
= 36c + 192c 1 f or correct expression
360c

= 19 1 f or correct answer
30
5.48 Chapter 5

Exam Drill 1
The following pie chart shows the distribution of the kinds of restaurants in a mall.

Kinds of restaurants in a mall

Thai

Chinese

American b

Japanese

If a restaurant is randomly selected from the mall, the probability of selecting a Chinese restaurant or an
American restaurant is 7 .
10
(a) Find b. (2 marks)
(b) If a restaurant is randomly selected from the mall, find the probability that a Thai restaurant or a
Japanese restaurant is selected. (2 marks)

Solution
 Probability 5.49

MC Question Tutor

✂ Example 2
In a game, a player throws two fair dice. If the sum of the two numbers is less than 4, the player gains
$72; otherwise, the player loses $18. Find the expected gain of the game.
A. -$10.5
B. $0
C. $22.5
D. $54

Solution
Number on the 2nd dice
1 2 3 4 5 6
Number on the 1st dice

1 (1 , 1) (1 , 2) (1 , 3) (1 , 4) (1 , 5) (1 , 6)
2 (2 , 1) (2 , 2) (2 , 3) (2 , 4) (2 , 5) (2 , 6)
3 (3 , 1) (3 , 2) (3 , 3) (3 , 4) (3 , 5) (3 , 6)
4 (4 , 1) (4 , 2) (4 , 3) (4 , 4) (4 , 5) (4 , 6)
5 (5 , 1) (5 , 2) (5 , 3) (5 , 4) (5 , 5) (5 , 6)
6 (6 , 1) (6 , 2) (6 , 3) (6 , 4) (6 , 5) (6 , 6)

Total number of possible outcomes = 36

P(sum is less than 4) = 3 = 1
36 12

P(sum is greater than or equal to 4) = 33 = 11

36 12

Expected gain = $ 972 # 12

1 + (-18) 11
# 12 C
= -$10.5
` The answer is A.

✂ Exam Drill 2
In a game, a player tosses a fair coin three times. If the results of the three tosses are the same, the player
gains $80; otherwise, the player loses $10. Find the expected gain of the game.
A. -$20.5
B. $0
C. $12.5
D. $70
5.50 Chapter 5

Exam-type Questions

1. The stem-and-leaf diagram shows the heights of the plants Heights of the plants in a greenhouse
in a greenhouse. A plant is randomly selected from the Stem (10 cm) Leaf (1 cm)
greenhouse. Find the probability that the height of the
plant selected is 1 5 6 6 7
2 1 3 3 6 9
(a) at most 23 cm,
3 2 2 5 6 7
(b) greater than 32 cm but less than 41 cm. 4 0 1 1 2 2 5

2. The bar chart below shows the numbers of presents received by a group of students at Christmas.
Numbers of presents received by a group of students
Number of students

14

5
3

2 3 4 5
Number of presents

If a student is selected from the group at random, the probability that the student receives
4 presents is 5 .
16
(a) Find the value of x.

(b) Find the probability that a student randomly selected from the group receives not less than
3 presents.

3. The frequency distribution table below shows the weights of a group of patients in a clinic.

Weight (kg) 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70

Number of patients 4 x 5 9 12

If a patient is randomly selected from the clinic, the probability of selecting a patient who belongs to
the group 61 kg-65 kg is 1 .
4
(a) Find the value of x.

(b) Find the probability that a patient randomly selected from the clinic weighs 60.5 kg or
above.
 Probability 5.51

4. There are two $10 coins, one $5 coin and one

✂
5. A fair dice is thrown in a game. If a ‘6’
$1 coin in a bag. If two coins are randomly is obtained, 24 tokens will be awarded;
chosen at the same time from the bag, find otherwise, 6 tokens will be awarded. Find
the probability that the total amount of the the expected number of tokens awarded in
coins chosen is not less than $15. the game.
A. 1 A. 6
4
B. 9
B. 1 C. 15
2
D. 21
C. 3
4

D. 11
12

Public Exam Questions

HKDSE 2018 (A1)

1. A box contains n white balls, 5 black balls and 8 red balls. If a ball is randomly drawn from the box,
then the probability of drawing a red ball is 25 . Find the value of n.

HKDSE 2017 (A1)

2. The pie chart below shows the distribution of the seasons of birth of the students in a school.

Autumn Summer

158°

x
Winter

Spring

Distribution of the seasons of birth of the students in the school

If a student is randomly selected from the school, then the probability that the selected student was
born in spring is 1 .
9
(a) Find x.

(b) In the school, there are 180 students born in winter. Find the number of students in the school.
5.52 Chapter 5

HKDSE 2016 (A1)

3. The frequency distribution table and the cumulative frequency distribution table below show the
distribution of the heights of the plants in a garden.

Height (m) Frequency Height less than (m) Cumulative frequency

0.1-0.3 a 0.35 2

0.4-0.6 4 0.65 x

0.7-0.9 b 0.95 13

1.0-1.2 c 1.25 y

1.3-1.5 15 1.55 37

1.6-1.8 3 1.85 z

(a) Find x, y and z.

(b) If a plant is randomly selected from the garden, find the probability that the height of the
selected plant is less than 1.25 m but not less than 0.65 m.

HKDSE 2015 (A1)

4. Bag A contains four cards numbered 1, 3, 5 and 7 respectively while bag B contains five cards
numbered 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 respectively. If one card is randomly drawn from each bag, find the
probability that the sum of the two numbers drawn is less than 9.

HKDSE 2019 (A) HKDSE 2018 (A)

5. Two numbers are randomly drawn at the 6. Two numbers are randomly drawn at the same
same time from nine balls numbered 1, 2, time from seven cards numbered 1, 1, 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively. Find the 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Find the probability
probability that the two numbers drawn are that the sum of the numbers drawn is 5.
consecutive integers. 5
A.
21
A. 1
2 5
B.
42
B. 1
4 5
C.
49
C. 2
9
D. 10
49
D. 7
9
 Probability 5.53

HKDSE 2017 (A) HKDSE 2012 (A)

7. The bar chart below shows the distribution 9. The stem-and-leaf diagram below shows
of the numbers of tokens got by a group of the distribution of the ages of a group of
children in a game. If a child is randomly members in a recreational centre.
selected from the group, find the probability
that the selected child gets fewer than
Stem (tens) Leaf (units)
5 tokens in the game. 5 0 5 6 6 8
6 1 4 5 5 7 8 8 9
20
Number of children

7 3 4 4 6 7 9
15
8
10 9 1
5
A member is randomly selected from the
0
3 4 5 6 7 group. Find the probability that the selected
Number of tokens got member is not under the age of 74.
A. 2 A. 0.2 C. 0.7
3
B. 0.3 D. 0.8
B. 2
5
HKDSE 2016 (A)
C. 5
12 10. A bag contains 1 red ball, 3 yellow balls
D. 7 ✂ and 6 white balls. In a lucky draw, a ball is
25
randomly drawn from the bag and a certain
HKDSE 2012 (A) number of tokens will be got according to
8. 9★♦ is a 3-digit number, where ★ and ♦ the following table:
are integers from 0 to 9 inclusive. Find Colour of the
Red Yellow White
the probability that the 3-digit number is ball drawn

divisible by 5. Number of
90 20 10
tokens got
A. 1
5 Find the expected number of tokens got in the
B. 7 lucky draw.
33
A. 10 C. 40
C. 20 B. 21 D. 61
99

D. 19
100 HKDSE 2015 (A)

11. Two fair dice are thrown in a game. If the

✂ sum of the two numbers thrown is 7, $36
will be gained; otherwise, $6 will be gained.
Find the expected gain of the game.
A. $11
B. $12
C. $30
D. $31
5.54 Chapter 5

Answers
Q & A (P. 5.1) Exercise 5A (P. 5.11)
rarely 1. 1 2. 1
3 4
Instant Drill 3. (a) 7
(b) 8
15 15
1 (a) 1 (b) 2
11 11 1 5
4. (a) (b)
9 9

(c) 2 (d) 0
11 3 1
5. (a) (b)
10 5
2 (a) 1 (b) 1
3 9 6. (a) 1 (b) 1
3 6
3 7
7. (a) 0 (b) 1
1
4 (a) (b) 3 6
10 5
9 3
5 (a) 1 (b) 1 (c) 1 8. (a) (b)
4 10 10
13 2
9. (a) 1 (b) 1
(d) 1 (e) 0 5 6
26
10. (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 4
6 (a) 2 (b) 1
4 9 9 9
5
7 (a) 1 (b) 1 11. 11 12. 3
12 5
6 3
2 5
8 (a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 1 13. (a) (b) (c) 0
9 9
8 8 2
9 (a) 1 (b) 1 (c) 1 14. (a) 1 (b) 19
4 8 2 25

10 (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 9 15. 69

100
10 5 10
1 53
11 25 16. (a) (b)
4 112
12 66.4 kg 17. (a) 5
(b) 21
12 40
13 (a) $2.5 (b) no 1 2
18. (a) (b)
3 3
Quick Quiz (P. 5.4)
19. (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 13
(a) all possible outcomes: ‘W’, ‘A’, ‘T’, ‘E’, ‘R’; 30 15 15
20. (a) 1 (b) 1
favourable outcome(s): ‘T’ 13 2
(b) all possible outcomes: Sunday, Monday, (c) 1 (d) 0
26
Tuesday, Wednesday, 7
21. (a) (b) 1
18 3
Thursday, Friday, Saturday;
(c) 0 (d) 1
favourable outcome(s): Sunday
3 7 8
(c) all possible outcomes: 17, 18, 19, 20; 22. (a) (b) (c)
10 25 25
favourable outcome(s): 17, 19 3 1 7
23. (a) (b) (c)
8 6 24
Quick Quiz (P. 5.4) 24. 5 25. 6
1
3 26. 1
10
7 38
Quick Quiz (P. 5.10) 27. (a) 22 (b) (c)
75 15 75
7
20 28. (a) 1 (b) 7
5 10
Class Practice 5.1 (P. 5.11) 29. (a) 1 (b) 1 (c) 2
5 10 5
1. 1 30. 24
2
25
2. (a) 2 (b) 0 6
31. (a) 11 (b) (c) 21
11
50 25 50
3. (a) 2 (b) 2
9 3 32. yes
16
4.
25
 Probability 5.55

Quick Quiz (P. 5.18) Banknote

11. (a) $20 $50 $100
1. outcome: HH, HT, TH, TT drawn
2. outcome: OP, OE, OT, XP, XE, XT 3 1 1
Probability 10 2 5
Class Practice 5.2 (P. 5.23)
1 (b) $51
1. (a) (b) 1
6 3
12. 15.7 13. -4
3
2. (a) (b) 7
10 10 14. (b) $8
Exercise 5B (P. 5.23) 15. (a) 42 (b) yes
1. 1 2. 1 3. 1
16. (a) $7 (b) no
4 2 6
4. (a) 1 (b) 2 17. choose the answer randomly
3 9
1 4 18. (a) $7, no (b) 7
5. (a) (b)
9 9
Checkpoint (P. 5.37)
6. (a) 2 (b) 4
9 9 1. (a) ✓ (b) ✓ (c) ✗
5 1 3 3
7. 8. 2. (a) (b)
6 3 5 20
1 5 3. 1
9. (a) (b) 20
9 9
1 3 4. (b) 1
10. (a) (b) 9
16 8
5. $90
11. (a) 1 (b) 1 (c) 1
12 6 3 Supplementary Exercise 5 (P. 5.38)
1 2 1
12. (a)
6
(b)
3 1. (a) (b) 1
4 2
13. (a) 1 (b) 1 1 4
8 2 2. 3.
2 25
14. (a) 1 (b) 11 4. (a) 1 (b) 0
2 18
5
1 3 (c) (d) 2
15. (a) (b) 6 3
8 4
5. (a) 2 (b) 4
1 9
16. (a) (b) 1 (c) 5 5
25 5 25
6. (a) 2 (b) 1
1 1 5
17. (a) (b) (c) 13 26
6 3 6
7. 17
18. (a) 2 (b) 3 50
15 5
7
1 8 8. (a) 28 (b)
19. (a) (b) 25
5 25
33 1
14 8 1 9. 10.
20. (a) (b) (c) 40 4
15 15 5
11. (a) 1 (b) 2
9 3
Quick Quiz (P. 5.27)
12. 1
2.5 2
1 3
Quick Quiz (P. 5.29) 13. (a) (b) 1 (c)
16 4 4
1.7 14. 5

Class Practice 5.3 (P. 5.31) 15. (a) 3 210 480 (b) 65 520

1. 800 2. 6 3. $15 16. $1 900 17. 6.25

18. (a) 1 (b) 1 (c) 1
Exercise 5C (P. 5.32) 5 10 10
1. 32 2. 285 6 5
19. (a) (b)
7 42
3. (a) 150 (b) 300 20. 18
4. 144 5. 200 6. $122 7. $8 000 21. pen: 3, pencil: 7; pen: 6, pencil: 14
8. $30 9. 4.25 10. 3.25 (or other reasonable answers)
22. (a) 1 (b) 3
5 5
3
23. (a) (b) 3 (c) 11
8 8 72
5.56 Chapter 5

5 5
24. (a) (b)
18 12
25. (a) 7 (b) 10
3
26. (a) (b) x = 56, y = 8
5
27. (a) 29
11 89
(b) (i) (ii)
40 200
5 1
28. (a) (b)
16 4
29. (a) 1 (b) 1 (c) 2
9 3 9
30. (a) 4 (b) 1 (c) 1
9 3 6
31. (a) 1 (b) 1
3 2
32. (a) (i) 1 (ii) 2
3 3
(b) 1
3
33. (a) $27.5 (b) $55
34. competition A 35. no
36. (a) 2 (b) 2 (c) 1
9 9 3
37. (a) a + b = 0.35, a + 3b = 0.75
(b) a = 0.15, b = 0.2
38. C 39. C 40. C 41. B
42. C 43. A 44. C 45. C
46. D 47. D

Application of Maths
yes
Exam Get-Set-Go (P. 5.47)

Exam Drill
3
1 (a) 162c (b)
10
2 C

Exam-type Questions
7
1. (a) (b) 1
20 5
2. (a) 10 (b) 27
32
3. (a) 6 (b) 7
12
4. B 5. B

Public Exam Questions

1. 7
2. (a) 40c (b) 900
3. (a) x = 6, y = 22, z = 40 (b) 2
5
3
4.
10
5. C 6. A 7. C 8. A
9. B 10. B 11. A