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Mathematics
Quarter 4 – Module 5:
Basic Concepts of Probability
Mathematics – Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 – Module 5: Basic Concepts of Probability
First Edition, 2020

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master
the nature of number of occurrences of an outcome in an experiment. The scope of this
module permits it to be used in many different learning situations. The language used
recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow
the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be
changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using.

The module is about the Basic Concepts of Probability. After going through this module,
you are expected to:
1. illustrate an experiment, outcome, sample space, and event; and
2. count the number of occurrences of an outcome in an experiment using table,
tree diagram, systematic listing, and fundamental counting principles.

What I Know

Multiple Choice: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your chosen letter on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. What do you call a set of all possible outcomes of an experiment?

A. event B. outcome C. sample space D. experiment

2. ____________ is a set of one or more outcomes satisfying some given

conditions.
A. Outcome B. Event C. Experiment D. Sample space

3. Which of the following is FALSE?

A. The probability of rolling 3 in a die is 1/6.
B. Flipping a coin thrice has 3 possible outcomes.
C. Answering a true/false question has two possible outcomes.
D. The probability of getting a head when a coin is tossed once can be
expressed as ½, 0.5 or 50%.

4. How many possible outcomes are there if you draw a card at random from
a deck of 10 identical cards suits labeled 1 to 10?
A. 1 B. 5 C. 10 D. 15

5. When two dice are tossed, how many possible outcomes are there?
A. 6 B. 12 C. 24 D. 36

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 Lesson

1 Basic Concepts of Probability

Studying probability will help the students develop critical thinking skills and
interpret the probability that surrounds us daily. Students should begin by doing
simple experiments like the coin and dice toss.

In this lesson we will illustrate an experiment, outcome, sample space, and event.
We will also find the number of occurrences of an outcome in an experiment.

What’s In

People deal with probability questions daily. Now, you will attempt to predict the
chance that something will or not happen.

Many things in life are uncertain.

Will I
passWW the
Will our team test?
win the
championship?

These questions can be answered with words such as “maybe”, “likely”,

“perhaps”, or “probably”. We ask questions because we are uncertain whether such
events will occur or not.

What’s New

People use their personal experiences and intuition to answer questions about
an event’s chance of occurring, but in some cases, it is possible to give a more precise
numerical measure of chance. This is known as probability.

Probability is the branch of Mathematics concerned with analyzing the

chance that a particular event will occur. Its purpose is to attempt to
predict the likelihood that something will or will not happen.

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 The probability of an event, P (event) is the number from 0 to 1 which tells how
likely the event is to happen. Event is a set of outcomes (a subset of the sample space).

When a mother gives birth to a baby, how likely is it that the newly born baby is
a girl? There is an even chance that a mother will give birth to a baby girl. When you
toss a die, how likely is it that 5 dots will come out? The event is unlikely to happen
because there is only 17% chance that 5 dots will come out. In these examples, the
result depends on chance.

Let’s try to answer the following question using the illustration.

1. How many blouses are

there?
2. How many pairs of short
pants are there?
3. How many pairs of long
pants are there?
4. How many different outfits
can you choose?

1. There are 2 blouses.

2. There are 2 short pants.
3. There are 2 long pants.

On the right are the

combinations of outfits.

After the mix and match of blouses, long pants, and short pants, we come up
with 8 different outfits. The mixing and matching of blouses, short pants, and long pants
is an experiment. The 8 different outfits are called as the possible outcomes. Each
possible result of the probability experiment is an outcome. The set of all outcomes is
the sample space of the experiment. The sample space is usually denoted by S and the
total number of possible outcomes by n(S).

To find the probability of an event, it is necessary for us to determine the number

of possible outcomes and the number of favorable outcomes. There is a need to organize
our data to find the correct number of possible and favorable outcomes.

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 What is It

There are four ways on how to count the number of occurrences of an outcome
in an experiment.

A. Table
Probability Experiment Possible Outcomes
Examples:

Tossing a die

Flipping two coins HH, HT, TH, TT

B. Tree Diagram
Example 1:
Tossing two coins in the air as the tossing of one coin two time in succession.
First toss Second toss
HH
H
HT
H
TH
T
TT

HH
H
HT
T
TH
T
TT
Example 2:
There are two white balls and one black ball in a box. You reach in and get a ball,
record the color, replace it, and draw a second ball. What are the possible
combinations for the first and second balls you draw?
First ball Second ball Possible Outcomes

W WW

W W WW

W WW
B WB

W W WW

B WB

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 W BW

B W BW

B BB

C. Systematic Listing
Example 1:

How many numbers of two- digits can be formed from integers 1,2,3, and 4? If
no digit is repeated?

The possible two-digit numbers are:

12,13,14 (using 1 for tens digit) 31, 32,34 (using 3 for tens digit)

21,23,24 (using 2 for tens digit) 41, 42,43 (using 4 for tens digit)

Example 2:

By listing, show various ways of arranging three books [Math (M), Science (S),
English (E)].

(M, E, S) (E, M, S) (M, S, E)

(S, M, E) (E, S, M) (S, E, M)

D. Fundamental Counting Principle

If there are m ways to do task, and n ways to do another, then there are m x n
ways of doing both.

Example 1:

A Morning snack consist of a drink and a sandwich. You may choose from coffee,
milk, and juice for the drink, and a ham and tuna for sandwich. How many
possible snacks are there?

Three choices for drink p= 3

Two choices for sandwich q=2

Therefore, pq = 3 (2) = 6 snacks

Example 2:

If there are 7 doors to a room, in how many ways can a person enter one door
and leave by a different door?

7 choices to enter and 6 choices to exit

Therefore, (7)(6) = 42 ways

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 What’s More

Activity 1: Tell how likely each event will happen. (impossible, unlikely, even chance,
likely, certainly)

____________________1. The sun rises in the west.

____________________2. Four dots came out after rolling a die.

____________________3. Mrs. Beltran is expecting a baby. It is a baby boy.

____________________4. The clouds are dark. It will rain.

____________________5. A dolphin will swim in water.

Activity 2: Determine the number of occurrences of an outcome in an experiment using

the method asked for.
A. Table
Probability Experiment Possible Outcomes
Drawing a card at random
from a set of cards (1 -10)

B. Tree Diagram
A morning snack consists of a drink and a sandwich. You may choose from coffee,
milk, or juice for the drink and ham or tuna for the sandwich. How many possible
snacks are there?

C. Fundamental Counting Principle

A pizza can be ordered with 3 choices of size (small, medium, large), 4 choices of
crust (thin, crispy, regular) and 5 choices of topping (beef, bacon, pepperoni,
cheese, mushroom). How many one-toping pizzas can be ordered?

What I Have Learned

Probability is the branch of Mathematics concerned with analyzing

the chance that a particular event will occur. Its purpose is to
attempt to predict the likelihood that something will or will not
happen.

Probability experiment is a chance process that leads to a well-defined result called

outcome. Examples include rolling a die, tossing/flipping of a coin, and picking card
from a deck of cards.

Outcome is the result of a single trial of an experiment.

Event is a set of outcomes (a subset of the sample space).

Sample space is the set of all possible outcomes or sample points.

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There are four ways on how to counts the number of occurrences of an outcome in an
experiment.

1. Table
2. Tree Diagram
3. Systematic listing
4. Fundamental Counting Principle

If there are m ways to do task, and n ways to do another, then there are m x n ways of
doing both.

What I Can Do

How many numbers of two-digit can be formed from 1,2,3, and 4, if no digit is repeated?
Show your answer using systematic listing.

Assessment

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write your chosen letter on a separate
sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following is not an example of probability experiment?

a. spinning a wheel c. tossing a die
b. flipping a coin d. reciting a poem

2. Identify the event in the given problem below.

“There are 4 red blocks and 3 blue blocks in a box. What is the
probability that you will pick a red block?”
a. picking a red block c. 4 blue blocks
b. 3 red blocks d. probability of picking

3. There are 8 red blocks and 6 blue blocks in a box. How many possible
outcomes are there if a red block is picked at random?
a. 8 b. 6 c. 14 d. 48

4. A factory made 2 new shirt designs. Each design comes in 3 different colors: red,
blue, and black. Shirts are available for each color in small, medium, large, and
extra-large sizes. In how many ways can a customer choose a shirt?
a. 3 ways b. 4 ways c. 12 ways d. 24 ways

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5. Mr. Gueco is going to choose one pasta dish and one drink from the menu. Which
set shows all the possible choices?

PASTA

Spaghetti
Carbonara
DRINKS
Lasagna
Orange
juice
Iced tea

a. {(spaghetti, carbonara), (spaghetti, lasagna), (lasagna, carbonara)}

b. {(spaghetti, orange juice), (carbonara, orange juice), (lasagna, orange juice)}
c. {(spaghetti, iced tea), (carbonara, orange juice), (lasagna, iced tea)}
d. {(spaghetti, orange juice), (carbonara, orange juice), (lasagna, orange juice),
(spaghetti, iced tea), (carbonara, iced tea), (lasagna, iced tea)}

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