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Probability Definition in Math

Probability is a measure of the likelihood of an event occurring, ranging from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain), and is a key topic for Class 10 students. The probability formula is the ratio of favorable outcomes to total outcomes, with various types including theoretical, experimental, and axiomatic probability. Examples illustrate how to calculate probabilities for different scenarios, such as rolling a die or drawing cards.

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2 views5 pages

Probability Definition in Math

Probability is a measure of the likelihood of an event occurring, ranging from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain), and is a key topic for Class 10 students. The probability formula is the ratio of favorable outcomes to total outcomes, with various types including theoretical, experimental, and axiomatic probability. Examples illustrate how to calculate probabilities for different scenarios, such as rolling a die or drawing cards.

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nanmoemyint693
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Probability Definition in Math

Probability is a measure of the likelihood of an event to occur. Many events


cannot be predicted with total certainty. We can predict only the chance of
an event to occur i.e., how likely they are going to happen, using it.
Probability can range from 0 to 1, where 0 means the event to be an
impossible one and 1 indicates a certain event. Probability for Class 10 is an
important topic for the students which explains all the basic concepts of this
topic. The probability of all the events in a sample space adds up to
1.

For example, when we toss a coin, either we get Head OR Tail, only two
possible outcomes are possible (H, T). But when two coins are tossed then
there will be four possible outcomes, i.e {(H, H), (H, T), (T, H), (T, T)}.

Formula for Probability


The probability formula is defined as the possibility of an event to happen is
equal to the ratio of the number of favourable outcomes and the total
number of outcomes.

Probability of event to happen P(E) = Number of favourable outcomes/Total Number


of outcomes

Sometimes students get mistaken for “favourable outcome” with “desirable


outcome”. This is the basic formula. But there are some more formulas for
different situations or events.

Solved Examples
1) There are 6 pillows in a bed, 3 are red, 2 are yellow and 1 is blue.
What is the probability of picking a yellow pillow?

Ans: The probability is equal to the number of yellow pillows in the bed
divided by the total number of pillows, i.e. 2/6 = 1/3.
2) There is a container full of coloured bottles, red, blue, green and
orange. Some of the bottles are picked out and displaced. Sumit did
this 1000 times and got the following results:

 No. of blue bottles picked out: 300


 No. of red bottles: 200
 No. of green bottles: 450
 No. of orange bottles: 50

a) What is the probability that Sumit will pick a green bottle?

Ans: For every 1000 bottles picked out, 450 are green.

Therefore, P(green) = 450/1000 = 0.45

b) If there are 100 bottles in the container, how many of them are
likely to be green?

Ans: The experiment implies that 450 out of 1000 bottles are green.

Therefore, out of 100 bottles, 45 are green.

Probability Tree
The tree diagram helps to organize and visualize the different possible
outcomes. Branches and ends of the tree are two main positions. Probability
of each branch is written on the branch, whereas the ends are containing the
final outcome. Tree diagrams are used to figure out when to multiply and
when to add. You can see below a tree diagram for the coin:
Types of Probability
There are three major types of probabilities:

 Theoretical Probability
 Experimental Probability
 Axiomatic Probability

Theoretical Probability
It is based on the possible chances of something to happen. The theoretical
probability is mainly based on the reasoning behind probability. For example,
if a coin is tossed, the theoretical probability of getting a head will be ½.

Experimental Probability
It is based on the basis of the observations of an experiment.
The experimental probability can be calculated based on the number of
possible outcomes by the total number of trials. For example, if a coin is
tossed 10 times and head is recorded 6 times then, the experimental
probability for heads is 6/10 or, 3/5.

Axiomatic Probability
In axiomatic probability, a set of rules or axioms are set which applies to all
types. These axioms are set by Kolmogorov and are known
as Kolmogorov’s three axioms. With the axiomatic approach to
probability, the chances of occurrence or non-occurrence of the events can
be quantified. The axiomatic probability lesson covers this concept in detail
with Kolmogorov’s three rules (axioms) along with various examples.

Conditional Probability is the likelihood of an event or outcome occurring


based on the occurrence of a previous event or outcome.

Question,

Problems and Solutions on Probability


Question 1: Find the probability of ‘getting 3 on rolling a die’.

Solution:

Sample Space = S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

Total number of outcomes = n(S) = 6

Let A be the event of getting 3.

Number of favourable outcomes = n(A) = 1

i.e. A = {3}

Probability, P(A) = n(A)/n(S) = 1/6

Hence, P(getting 3 on rolling a die) = 1/6

Question 2: Draw a random card from a pack of cards. What is the


probability that the card drawn is a face card?

Solution:
A standard deck has 52 cards.

Total number of outcomes = n(S) = 52

Let E be the event of drawing a face card.

Number of favourable events = n(E) = 4 x 3 = 12 (considered Jack, Queen


and King only)

Probability, P = Number of Favourable Outcomes/Total Number of Outcomes

P(E) = n(E)/n(S)

= 12/52

= 3/13

P(the card drawn is a face card) = 3/13

Question 3: A vessel contains 4 blue balls, 5 red balls and 11 white


balls. If three balls are drawn from the vessel at random, what is the
probability that the first ball is red, the second ball is blue, and the
third ball is white?

Solution:

Given,

The probability to get the first ball is red or the first event is 5/20.

Since we have drawn a ball for the first event to occur, then the number of
possibilities left for the second event to occur is 20 – 1 = 19.

Hence, the probability of getting the second ball as blue or the second event
is 4/19.

Again with the first and second event occurring, the number of possibilities
left for the third event to occur is 19 – 1 = 18.

And the probability of the third ball is white or the third event is 11/18.

Therefore, the probability is 5/20 x 4/19 x 11/18 = 44/1368 = 0.032.

Or we can express it as: P = 3.2%.

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