Probability

Probability can be defined as a measure of the likelihood for the occurrence of some event. It
always lies between 0 to 1.
Note: The concepts of permutations and combinations are also used in determining the
probability of an event.

Sample space: The set of all possible outcomes of an experiment is called sample space.
Examples of Sample Space are: In tossing a coin, S={ H, T} and In rolling dice, we have S={ 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6}.

Event: A subset of the sample space is called an event. It comprises one or more outcomes of
the experiment.
Mutually exclusive events: Two events are said to be mutually exclusive if the occurrence of one
event eliminates the possibility of the occurrence of another. For example, when a coin is tossed
once, the occurrence of heads and tails are mutually exclusive as both of them cannot happen
simultaneously.
Collectively exhaustive events: Events that together cover all possible outcomes are called
collectively exhaustive events. For example, when a die is thrown, getting an odd number and
getting an even number are two events which, put together, will account for all possible
outcomes. These events are called collectively exhaustive.

Independent events: Two events are said to be independent if the occurrence of one event does
not affect the occurrence of another. For example, when a coin is tossed and a die is thrown
simultaneously, the event of getting a head and the number ‘6’ is an independent event.

Note: If the events are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive, then the sum of
probabilities of the events will be equal to 1.
Where,
•P(A) is the probability of an event “A”
•n(A) is the number of favourable outcomes
•n(S) is the total number of events in the sample space
 Basic Probability Formulas
Let A and B are two events. The probability formulas are listed below:

All Probability Formulas List in Maths

Probability Range 0 ≤ P(A) ≤ 1
Rule of Addition P(A∪B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A∩B)
Rule of Complementary Events P(A’) + P(A) = 1
Disjoint Events P(A∩B) = 0
Independent Events P(A∩B) = P(A) ⋅ P(B)
Conditional Probability P(A | B) = P(A∩B) / P(B)
Bayes Formula P(A | B) = P(B | A) ⋅ P(A) / P(B)
 1. A bag contains 6 white and 4 red balls. Three balls are drawn one by one with replacement. What is the
probability that all 3 balls are red?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 4C1 * 4C1 * 4C1
Total outcomes = 10C1*10C1*10C1
= 4*4*4/10*10*10
= 8/125

2. A card is pulled from a deck of cards and the outcome noted. The card is then replaced the deck is shuffled, and a second
card is drawn and the outcome noted. What is the probability that both cards are Aces?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 4C1*4C1
Total outcome = 52C1*52C1
Probability = 16 / 52*52
= 1/169
 3. An urn contains 9 blue, 7 white and 4 black balls. If 2 balls are drawn at random, then what is the probability
that only one ball is white?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 7C1 * 13C1
Total outcomes = 20C2
= 7*13*2/20*19
= 91/190

4. Find the probability that in a random arrangement of the letters of the word ’UNIVERSITY’ the two I’s come together.

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 9!
Total outcome = 10!/2
Probability = 9!*2 / 10!
= 2/10
= 1/5
 5. A and B play a game where each is asked to select a number from 1 to 5. If the two numbers match, both of
them win a prize. The probability that they will not win a prize in a single trial is

Solution:
Number of ways winning prize= (1,1),(2,2),(3,3),(4,4),(5,5)
= 5
Total outcomes = 5*5
=25
Number of ways not winning prize = 25-5 = 20
Probability = 20/25
= 4/5
6. . I forgot the last three digits of a 7-digit telephone number. If I randomly dial the final 3 digits after correctly dialing the
first four, then what is the chance of dialing the correct number?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = _ _ _ _ __ _
Correct possibility (favourable event) = 1
Total outcome = 10 * 10 * 10
Probability = 1 / 10* 10 * 10
= 1/1000
 7. What is the probability that a 2 digit number selected at random will be a multiple of 3 and not a multiple of 5?

Solution:
Favourable event = All multiples of 3 – all multiples of 15 (multiple of 3 &5)
= 30 – 6
= 24
Total outcomes = 10 to 99
=90
Probability = 24/90
= 4/15
 8. When two dice are thrown simultaneously, what is the probability that the sum of the two numbers that turn up is
less than 11?

Solution:
Favourable event = (1,1)………. (1,6) = 6 +
(2,1)………...(2,6) = 6 +
(3,1)…………(3,6) = 6 +
(4,1)……………(4,6) = 6 +
(5,1)……………(5,5) = 5 +
(6,1)……………(6,4) = 4
= 6+6+6+6+5+4
= 33
Total outcomes = 6*6
=36
Probability = 33/36
= 11/12
 9. When 4 dice are thrown, what is the probability that the same number appears on each of them?

Solution:
Favourable event = (1,1,1,1) + (2,2,2,2) + (3,3,3,3) + (4,4,4,4) + (5,5,5,5) + (6,6,6,6)
=6
Total outcomes = 6*6*6*6
=6^4
Probability = 6/6^4
= 1/6^3
= 1/216
10. An anti aircraft gun can fire 4 shots at a time. If the probabilities of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and the last shot hitting the
enemy aircraft are 0.7, 0.6, 0.5 and 0.4, what is the probability that 4 shots aimed at an enemy aircraft will bring
the aircraft down?

Solution:
1St shot hitting = 0.7 , 2nd shot hitting = 0.6, 3rd shot hitting = 0.5 , 4th shot hitting = 0.4
1st shot not hitting = 0.3
2nd shot not hitting = 0.4
3rd shot not hitting = 0.5
4th shot not hitting = 0.6
All 4 shots missing = 0.3 * 0.4 * 0.5 * 0.6
= 3/10 * 4/10 * 5/10 * 6/10
= 360/10000
=0.036
Probability of atleast one hitting = 1- 0.036
= 0.964
11. A number is selected at random from 1st thirty natural numbers. What is the chance that it is a multiple of either 3 or 13?

Solution:
Favourable event = all multiples of 3 + all multiples of 13 – all multiples of 39(multiple of 3&13)
= 10 + 2 - 0
Total ways = 30
Probability = 12/30
= 4/10
= 2/5 or 0.4
12. There are 2 bags-one containing 3 one rupee coins, 6 five rupee coins and the other containing 2 one rupee coins, 7 five
rupee coins. One bag is chosen at random and from that one coin is drawn at random. What is the probability that it is a 1
rupee coin?

Solution:

Bag 1 Bag 2
1 rupee – 3 1- rupee – 2
5 rupee – 6 5 rupee – 7
Total -9 Total - 9

Choosing 1st bag & choosing one rupee coin probability = 1/2 * 3/9
Choosing 2nd bag & choosing one rupee coin probability = 1/2 * 2/9
Total probability = ½(3/9 + 2/9)
= ½ * 5/9
= 5/18
 13. If you pull 2 cards out of a deck, what is the probability that both are spades?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 13C2
Total outcomes = 52C2
= 13*12/52*51
= 1/17

14. A can solve 80% of the problems given in an exam and B can solve 70%. What is the probability that at least one of them
will solve a problem selected at random from the exam?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 1 – none of them solving the problem
Probability of A solving = 80% and B solving = 70%
Probability of A not solving = 20% and B not solving = 30%
= 20% * 30%
= 0.2 * 0.3
= 0.06
Probability of atleast one solving = 1-0.06
= 0.94 or 94%
= 47/50
 15. Eight horses are entered in a race. You randomly predict a particular order for the horses to complete the
race. What is the probability that your prediction is correct?

Solution:
Number of favourable event = 1
Total outcomes = 8!
= 1/8!
16. A bag contains 3 white balls and 2 black balls. Another bag contains 2 white and 4 black balls. A bag and a ball are
picked random. The probability that the ball will be white is

Solution:

Bag 1 Bag 2
White balls – 3 White balls – 2
Black balls – 2 Black balls – 4
Total -5 Total - 6

Choosing 1st bag & choosing one rupee coin probability = 1/2 * 3/5
Choosing 2nd bag & choosing one rupee coin probability = 1/2 * 2/6
Total probability = ½(3/5 + 2/6)
= 14/30
= 7/15
 17. What is the probability that the sum of two different single-digit prime numbers will not be prime?

Solution:
Single digit prime numbers = 2, 3, 5 , 7
Selecting 2 numbers = 6 ways
Sum will be prime = 2+3, 2+5
= 5,7
Unfavourable event = 2/6
= 1/3
Favourable event = 1-1/3
= 2/3
18. There are three similar boxes, containing
I. 6 black and 4 white balls.
II. 3 black and 7 white balls.
III. 5 black and 5 white balls.
If you choose, one of the three boxes at random and from that particular box picks up a ball at random, and found that to be
black, what is the probability that the ball picked up from the second box?

Solution:

Box 1 Box 2 Box 3

White balls – 4 White balls – 7 White balls – 5
Black balls – 6 Black balls – 3 Black balls – 5
Total -10 Total - 10 Total -5

Choosing 2nd bag & choosing a black ball probability = 1/3 * 3/10
Total Probability = 1/3 * 6/10 + 1/3 * 3/10 + 1/3 * 5/10
Total probability = (1/3 * 3/10) / (1/3*6/10)+(1/3 * 3/10)+(1/3*5/10)
= (3/30)/(14/30)
= 3/14
 19. India plays two matches each with Pakistan and Australia. In any match the probabilities of India getting 0, 1
and 2 points probability are 0.45, 0.05 and 0.50 respectively. Assume that the outcomes are independent, the
probability of India getting at least 7 points is

Solution:
To get atleast 7 points – all win or 3 wins & 1 loss
Getting 8 points
All 4 wins = 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5
= 0.0625
Getting 7 points
3 wins and 1 draw = 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.05 * 4
= 0.025
Total probability = 0.0625 + 0.025
= 0.0875
 20. There are 6 positive and 8 negative numbers. Four numbers are chosen at random and multiplied. The
probability that the product is a positive number is

Solution:
The product of 4 numbers is positive
So possible combinations are all 4 positive numbers or 2 positive and 2 negative or all negative numbers
Favourable event = 6C4 + 6C2 * 8C2 + 8C4
= 15 + 15 * 28 + 70
= 15 + 420 + 70
= 505
Total outcome = 14 C 4
= 1001
Total probability = 505 / 1001