Math 5 Unit 3 - Probability

Lesson 1:
“Sample Spaces, Subsets, and
Basic Probability”
 Sample Space
• Sample space is the set of ALL possible outcomes of an event.
• Event - An event is the situation in which
we are interested
• Outcome – Is what happens (result of experiment)

Example: List the sample space, S, for each of the following:

a. Tossing a coin.
S = {H, T}
b. Rolling a standard six-sided die.
S = {1, 2, 3 ,4, 5, 6}
c. Drawing a marble from a bag that contains two red, three blue and
one white marble.
S = {red, red, blue, blue, blue, white}
 Intersection and Union of Sets
• The intersection of two sets (A  B) is the set
of all the elements in both set A AND set B.
• The union of two sets (A  B) is the set of
all the elements in set A OR set B.
• Example: Given the following sets A and B,
find A  B and A  B.
A = {1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15} B = {0,3,6,9,12,15}
A  B = {3, 9, 15}
A  B = {0, 1 , 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15}
 Venn Diagram
• is a visual representation of sets and their
relationships to each other using overlapping
circles. Each circle represents a different set.
Use the Venn Diagram to answer the questions below:

A B
Factors of 12 Factors of 16
1 8
3 6 12 2
4 16

1. What are the elements of set A?

{1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12}
2. What are the elements of set B?
{1, 2, 4, 8, 16}
3. Why are 1, 2, and 4 in both sets?
 A
Factors of 12
B
Factors of 16
1 8
3 6 12 2
4 16

4. What is A  B?
{1, 2, 4}
5. What is A  B?
{1, 2, 3, 4, 6 ,8, 12, 16}
In a class of 60 students, 21 sign up for chorus,
29 sign up for band, and 5 take both. 15
students in the class are not enrolled in either
band or chorus.
6. Put this information into a Venn Diagram. If
the sample space, S, is the set of all students
in the class, let students in chorus be set A and
students in band be set B.
7. How many students are in A  B?
8. How many students are in A  B?
S. Students in the class

A. Students in Chorus B. Students in Band

5 24
16

15
A  B = 45 students
A  B = 5 students
 Compliment of a Set
• is the set of all elements NOT in the original set.
The compliment of a set A, is denoted as AC

Example: S = {…-4, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,…}

A = {…-4, -2, 0, 2, 4,…}
If A is a subset of S, what is AC?
AC = {…-3, -1, 1, 3,…}
 A. Students in Chorus B. Students in Band

16 5 24

S. Students in the class 15

9. How many students are in AC? In BC?
39 31
10. How many students are in (A  B)C?
55
11. How many students are in (A  B)C?
15
 BASIC PROBABILITY
Probability – the chance of something (an event)
happening
PROBABILITY = number of successful
outcomes
numberof possible outcomes
All probability answers must be between 0 and 1
(inclusive)
0 1
event will event will
not happen happen
Answers can be in decimal or fraction form. If
Example One: Flipping a coin
sample space = { heads, tails}

1 or .50
2 or 50%
P(heads) =

event you
are looking for
Example Three: Rolling two dice
When rolling two dice, we are usually looking for
the sum of the dice unless otherwise noted.

There are 36 different ways to roll the

sums of 2 through 12 on two dice.

Sample space of rolling a 4

= { (1,3) ; (2,2) ; (3,1) }

3 1
P(4) = =
36 12
An experiment consists of tossing three coins.
12. List the sample space for the outcomes of the
experiment.
S = {HHH, HHT, HTH, HTT, THH, THT, TTH, TTT}
13. Find the following probabilities:
a. P(all heads)
1/8
b. P(two tails)
3/8
c. P(no heads)
1/8
d. P(at least one tail)
7/8
e. How could you use compliments to find d?
The compliment of at least one tail is no tails (all heads), so
you could do 1 – P(all heads) = 1 – 1/8 = 7/8
 A bag contains six red marbles, four blue marbles,
two yellow marbles and 3 white marbles. One
marble is drawn at random.
14. List the sample space for this experiment.
{r, r, r, r, r, r, b, b, b, b, y, y, w, w, w}
15. Find the following probabilities:
a. P(red)
2/5
b. P(blue or white)
7/15
c. P(not yellow)
13/15
 A card is drawn at random from a standard
deck of cards. Find each of the following:
16.P(Heart)
52 Cards in the deck
13/52 or 1/4
17. P(Black card) 4 suites: Spades and Clubs are black
26/52 or 1/2 Hearts and Diamonds are red.

18. P(2 or Jack) 13 ranks of each suite:

8/52 or 2/13 A,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,J,Q,K

19. P(not a Heart) There are 4 of each kind of rank in the

39/52 or 3/4 deck (one in each suite).
 Geometric Probability

Geometric Probability = Area of particular region

Area of entire shape
 Geometric Probability
20. A circle is inscribed in a square target with
20 cm sides. Find the probability that a dart
landing randomly within the square lands
inside the circle.

Area Circle = 𝛑(10)2 = 100 𝛑

Area Square = 20 · 20 = 400

P(Land in Circle) =
≈ 0.785 ≈ 78.5%
 Math 5 Unit 3 - Probability

Lesson 2:
“Probability of Independent and
Dependent Events”
Independent Events: two events are independent
if the outcome of the first event has no effect on
the outcome of the second event.

Dependent Events: two events are dependent if

the outcome of the first event has an effect on
the outcome of the second event.
 Determine whether the events are
independent or dependent.
1. Selecting a marble from a container and selecting a ace
from a deck of cards.
Independent
2. Choosing a jack from a deck of cards then choosing
another jack, without replacing the first card.
Dependent
3. Rolling a number less than 4 on a die and rolling a
number that is even on a second die.
Independent
4. A month is selected at random and a day of that month
is selected at random.
Dependent
 Independent Events
Suppose a die is rolled and a coin is tossed.
• How many outcomes are there for rolling the die?
6 outcomes
• How many outcomes are there for tossing the coin?
2 outcomes
• How many outcomes are there in the sample space of rolling
the die and tossing the coin?
12 outcomes
• Construct a table to describe the sample space:
1 2 3 4 5 6
Head 1, H 2, H 3, H 4, H 5, H 6, H
Tail 1, T 2, T 3, T 4, T 5, T 6, T
A fast food restaurant offers 5 sandwiches and
3 sides. How many different meals of a
sandwich and side can you order?
• What is the number of outcomes in the
sample space?
5 sandwiches · 3 sides = 15 meals
• Make a table of the possible outcomes.
Sand. Sand. Sand. Sand. Sand.
1 2 3 4 5
Side A 1, A 2, A 3, A 4, A 5, A
Side B 1, B 2, B 3, B 4, B 5, B
Side C 1, C 2, C 3, C 4, C 5, C
 1 2 3 4 5 6
Head 1, H 2, H 3, H 4, H 5, H 6, H
Tail 1, T 2, T 3, T 4, T 5, T 6, T

Suppose a die is rolled and a coin is tossed find each probability.

1. P(rolling a 3)
2/12 = 1/6
2. P(tails)
6/12 = 1/2
3. P(rolling a 3 AND getting tails)
1/12
4. P(rolling an even)
6/12 = 1/2
5. P(heads)
6/12 = 1/2
6. P(rolling an even AND getting heads)
3/12 or 1/4
Probability of Independent Events
• The probability of two independent events
occurring can be found by the following
formula:

P(A and B) = P(A) · P(B)

 Independent Events - Examples
1. At City High School, 30% of students have
part-time jobs and 25% of students are on
the honor roll. What is the probability that a
student chosen at random has a part-time
job and is on the honor roll?.
P(PT job and honor roll) = P(PT job) · P(honor roll)
= 0.30 · 0.25 = 0.075
There is a 7.5% probability that a student
chosen at random will have a part-time job and
be on the honor roll.
2. Suppose a card is chosen at random from a
deck of cards, replaced, and a second card is
chosen. What is the probability that both cards
are 7s?
P(1st card 7) = 4/52 = 1/13
P(2nd card 7) = 4/52 = 1/13
P(7 and 7) = 1/13 · 1/13 = 1/169 ≈ .0059.

This means that the probability of drawing a pair of 7s,

with replacing the first card is about 0.59%.
3. A box contains 6 red marbles and 4 purple
marbles. What is the probability of drawing 2
purple marbles and 1 red marble in
succession replacing the marble each time?
P(1st purple) = 4/10 = 2/5
P(2nd purple) = 4/10 = 2/5
P(3rd red) = 6/10 = 3/5
P(purple, purple, red) = 2/5 · 2/5 · 3/5 = 12/125 = .096

The probability of drawing a purple, a purple, then a red

with replacement is 9.6%
4. The following table represents data collected from the
senior class at West Johnston High School.

Suppose 1 student was chosen at random from the senior class.

(a) What is the probability that the student is female? 80/164
(b) What is the probability that the student is going to 71/164 a
university?
Now suppose 2 students are chosen randomly from the senior
class. Assume that it is possible for same student to be
chosen both times.
(c) What is the probability that the first student chosen is female and
the second student chosen is going to a university? 80/164 x
71/164 = 355/1681
Probabilities of Dependent Events
• You cannot just multiply the individually
probabilities for each event because the first
event affects the probability of the second
event.
• The probability of two dependent events
occurring can be found by the following
formula:
P(A then B) = P(A) · P(B | A)
 Dependent Events - Examples
1. Suppose a card is chosen at random from a
deck, the card is NOT replaced, and then a
second card is chosen from the same deck.
What is the probability that both will be 7s?
P(1st is 7) = 4/52 = 1/13
P(2nd is 7) = 3/51 because there are NOW three 7s
and 51 cards left.
P(1st is 7, 2nd is 7) = 1/13 · 3/51 = 1/221 ≈ .0045
The probability of drawing a pair of sevens
without replacement is 0.45%
2. A box contains 6 red marbles and 4 purple
marbles. What is the probability of drawing
2 purple marbles and 1 red marble in
succession without replacing the marble
each time?
P(1st purple) = 4/10 = 2/5
P(2nd purple) = 3/9 = 1/3
P(3rd red) = 6/8 = 3/4
P(purple, purple, red) = 2/5 · 1/3 · 3/4 = 36/360 = .1

The probability of drawing a purple, a purple, then a red

without replacement is 10%
3. A box contains 6 red marbles and 4 purple
marbles. What is the probability of drawing
1 red and 2 purple marble in succession
without replacing the marble each time?
P(1st red) = 6/10 = 3/5
P(2nd purple) = 4/9
P(3rd purple) = 3/8
P(red, purple, purple) = 3/5 · 4/9 · 3/8 = 36/360 = .1

The probability of drawing a red, a purple, then a purple

without replacement is 10%
4. In Example 2, what is the probability of first
drawing all 5 red marbles in succession without
replacing the marble each time?
P(1st red) = 5/10 = 1/2
P(2nd red) = 4/9
P(3rd red) = 3/8
P(4th red) = 2/7
P(5th red) = 1/6

P(5 all red) = 1/2 · 4/9 · 3/8 · 2/7 · 1/6

= 1/252 ≈ .00396
The probability of drawing all 5 red without
replacement is about 0.396%
5. Power Ball Lottery: You pick 5 numbers from 1 to
59. If you match all 5 numbers, you win! What is
the probability of matching all 5 winning numbers?
P(1st number) = 5/59
P(2nd number) = 4/58
P(3rd number) = 3/57
P(4th number) = 2/56
P(5th number) = 1/55

P(Match All 5) = 120/600766320

= 0.0000001997448858
The probability of matching all 5 numbers
to win is about 0.00002%
 1 2 3 4 5 6
Head 1, H 2, H 3, H 4, H 5, H 6, H
Tail 1, T 2, T 3, T 4, T 5, T 6, T

• How many outcomes are there for rolling the

die?
6 outcomes
• How many outcomes are there for tossing the
coin?
2 outcomes
• How many outcomes are there in the sample
space of rolling the die and tossing the coin?
12 outcomes
 1 2 3 4 5 6
Head 1, H 2, H 3, H 4, H 5, H 6, H
Tail 1, T 2, T 3, T 4, T 5, T 6, T

• Another way to decide how many outcomes

are in the sample space?
Multiply the number of outcomes in each
event together to get the total number of
outcomes.
Die Coin
6 outcomes · 2 outcomes = 12 outcomes
Math 5 Warm Up - Part 1
Math 5 Warm Up - Part 2
 Math 5 Unit 3 - Probability

Lesson 3: Mutually Exclusive and

Inclusive Events
 Mutually Exclusive Events
• Suppose you are rolling a six-sided die. What is
the probability that you roll an odd number or
you roll a 2?
• Can these both occur at the same time? Why or why not?
• Mutually Exclusive Events (or Disjoint Events):
Two or more events that cannot occur at the
same time.
• The probability of two mutually exclusive events
occurring at the same time , P(A and B), is 0!
 Probability of Mutually Exclusive Events

• To find the probability of one of two mutually

exclusive events occurring, use the following
formula:
P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B)
 Examples
1. If you randomly chose one of the integers 1
– 10, what is the probability of choosing
either an odd number or an even number?
• Are these mutually exclusive events? Why or why not?
• Complete the following statement:
P(odd or even) = P(_____) + P(_____)
P(odd or even) = P(odd) + P(even)
• Now fill in with numbers:
P(odd or even) = _______ + ________
P(odd or even) = ½ + ½ = 1
Does this answer make sense?
2. Two fair dice are rolled. What is the probability of getting a sum less than 7 or
a sum equal to 10?

Are these events mutually exclusive?

Sometimes using a table of outcomes is useful.

Complete the following table using the sums
of two dice:
Die 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 3 4
3 4
4
5
6
 Die 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
6 7 8 9 10 11 12

P(getting a sum less than 7 OR sum of 10)

= P(sum less than 7) + P(sum of 10)
= 15/36 + 3/36
= 18/36
=½
The probability of rolling a sum less than 7 or a
sum of 10 is ½ or 50%.
 Mutually Inclusive Events
• Suppose you are rolling a six-sided die. What is
the probability that you roll an odd number or
a number less than 4?
• Can these both occur at the same time? If so, when?
• Mutually Inclusive Events: Two events that
can occur at the same time.
Probability of the Union of Two Events: The
Addition Rule
• We just saw that the formula for finding the
probability of two mutually inclusive events can
also be used for mutually exclusive events, so
let’s think of it as the formula for finding the
probability of the union of two events or the
Addition Rule:
P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A and B)

***Use this for both Mutually Exclusive and

Inclusive events***
 Examples
1. What is the probability of choosing a card
from a deck of cards that is a club or a ten?
P(choosing a club or a ten)
= P(club) + P(ten) – P(10 of clubs)
= 13/52 + 4/52 – 1/52
= 16/52
= 4/13 or .308
The probability of choosing a club or a ten is 4/13
or 30.8%
2. What is the probability of choosing a number
from 1 to 10 that is less than 5 or odd?
P(<5 or odd)
= P(<5) + P(odd) – P(<5 and odd)
<5 = {1,2,3,4} odd = {1,3,5,7,9}
= 4/10 + 5/10 – 2/10
= 7/10
The probability of choosing a number less than 5
or an odd number is 7/10 or 70%.
3. A bag contains 26 tiles with a letter on each, one tile
for each letter of the alphabet. What is the
probability of reaching into the bag and randomly
choosing a tile with one of the first 10 letters of the
alphabet on it or randomly choosing a tile with a
vowel on it?
P(one of the first 10 letters or vowel)
= P(one of the first 10 letters) + P(vowel) – P(first 10 and
vowel)
= 10/26 + 5/26 – 3/26
= 12/26 or 6/13
The probability of choosing either one of the first 10
letters or a vowel is 6/13 or 46.2%
4. A bag contains 26 tiles with a letter on each, one tile
for each letter of the alphabet. What is the
probability of reaching into the bag and randomly
choosing a tile with one of the last 5 letters of the
alphabet on it or randomly choosing a tile with a
vowel on it?
P(one of the last 5 letters or vowel)
= P(one of the last 5 letters) + P(vowel) – P(last 5 and
vowel)
= 5/26 + 5/26 – 0
= 10/26 or 5/13
The probability of choosing either one of the first 10
letters or a vowel is 5/13 or 38.5%
 Conditional Probability
Conditional probability questions are done the
exact same way that regular probability question
are done, except the denominator changes
because we are looking at a smaller portion of
the entire sample space.

Example:
A regular deck of cards has 52 cards in it.
4 The word “from” is often used
Find P(7) =
52 in conditional probability

3
Find P(face cards from the diamonds) =
13
 Two-way Tables
• A two way table is used to organize data when
there are two different variables effecting the
data.

The variables are usually not independent of

each other.

P(A and B) = P(A) x P(B|A).

Use the table to find each probability.
1. P(has HS diploma)
2. P(has experience)
3. P(has HS diploma and experience)
4. P(has experience, given has HS diploma)
 Make a tree diagram
from the two-way table

Experience

HS diploma

Experience
Use the table to find each
probability.
5. P(recipient is male)
6. P(degree is a Bachelor’s)
7. P(recipient is female,
given that the degree is
Advanced)
8. P(degree is not an
Associate’s, given that
the recipient is male)
 Two Way Tables
Male Female Total
Seniors 312 296
Juniors 301 334
Total

a.) What is the probability a person from this group

is male student?
b.) What is the probability of selecting a student
who is a senior from the female students?
c.) What is the probability of selecting a student
who is a female from the seniors?
d.) What is the probability of selecting a student
who is a junior and a male student?
e.) What is the probability of selecting a student
who is a junior or a male student?
Factorials – the way of multiplying all the integers
from n to 1, it is denoted n!
Example:
5! = 5x4x3x2x1 = 120
We use factorials when finding out how
many possibilities there will be (the
sample space) when we are using ALL of
the choices.

How many ways can you visit all of your four

classes?
4 choices of where to go first 4x3x2x1=24
3 choices of where to go second or
2 choices of where to go third 4! = 24
1 choice of where to go last
Permutations – a counting procedure in which
the order matters. We usually use permutations
instead of factorials when we are using only part of
the total number of items given.

Example:
You want to go visit 3 of the 8 teachers you had
last year. How many different ways can you visit
those teachers?

P(8,3) or 8 nPr 3 = 336

Book notation Calculator notation

for permutation for permutation
 Combinations
Combinations – a counting procedure in which
the order does not matter.
If you have three items A, B, C.
Permutations Combinations
ABC BAC CBA equals ABC
ACB BCA CAB

EXAMPLE:
The Lottery has 50 numbers to choose from and
you must pick 5 of them. You do not have to pick
them in any order.
How many different outcomes are there in this
lottery?
50 nCr 5 = 2,118,760
 Use Multiplication Principle :
___ x ___ x ___ x … x ___
YES
Can the Are we
YES Factorial
items using all
Does the n!
Repeat? the items?
order
NO YES
matter?

NO Permutation
nPr

NO
Combination
nCr
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 3
EXAMPLE 4
EXAMPLE 5
EXERCISES