Chapter 14 Probability
Chapter 14 Probability
Probability
Independent Cases: occurrence of one case does not affect the occurrence of other case
Example: If a coin and a die are thrown, the occurrence of head or tail on coin will not
affect occurrence of any face on dice.
Dependent Cases: occurrence of one case affects the occurrence of other case.
Example: successively drawing cards form a pack without replacement.
Definition of Probability
Classical Definition: Let n be the total number of mutually exclusive equally
likely cases of which m cases are favourable to the occurrence of an event E.
Then, the probability of occurrence of that event is denoted by P(E) and given
by
𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑚
𝑃 𝐸 = =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑛
Properties of Probability:
1. 0 ≤ 𝑃 𝐸 ≤ 1
2. 𝑃 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 1
3. 𝑃 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 = 0
4. 𝑃 𝐸 + 𝑃 𝐸ത = 1, where 𝑃(𝐸)
ത denotes the probability of non-occurrence of
event E.
Two Basic Theorems
Addition Theorem: If A and B be any two events then the probability of
occurrence of at least one of the events is denoted by 𝑃(𝐴 ∪ 𝐵) and is given by
𝑃 𝐴∪𝐵 =𝑃 𝐴 +𝑃 𝐵 −𝑃 𝐴∩𝐵
where 𝑃 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 denotes the probability of simultaneous occurrence of the
events A and B.
Note that:
1. If the events A and B are mutually exclusive i.e. 𝑃 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 0, then
𝑃 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 𝑃 𝐴 + 𝑃(𝐵)
2. 𝑃 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 1 − 𝑃 𝐴ҧ . 𝑃(𝐵) ത
𝑃 𝐴1 ∪ 𝐴2 ∪ ⋯ ∪ 𝐴𝑛 = 1 − 𝑃 𝐴1 . 𝑃 𝐴2 … 𝑃(𝐴𝑛 )
Multiplication Theorem: If two events A and B are independent, then the
probability of their simultaneous occurrence is denoted by 𝑃 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 and is given
by 𝑃 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = 𝑃 𝐴 .𝑃 𝐵
Example 1: From 20 tickets numbered from 1 to 20, one is drawn at random. Find the
probability that it a multiple of 4 or 5.
Example 2: A problem in mathematics is given to two students A and B. Their chances of
1 1
solving it are and respectively. Find the probability that the problem will
2 3
a. be solved b. not be solved
Use of Combination in Probability
𝑛!
We can select or choose r objects from a set of n objects in 𝐶 𝑛, 𝑟 = ways.
𝑟!. 𝑛−𝑟 !
➢ The probability of occurrence of event A given that B has already occurred is denoted by
P(A/B) and is given by
𝑃 𝐴∩𝐵
P(A/B) = ; P(B) ≠ 0
𝑃 𝐵
➢ The probability of occurrence of event B given that A has already occurred is denoted by
P(B/A) and is given by
𝑃 𝐴∩𝐵
P(B/A) = ; P(A) ≠ 0
𝑃 𝐴
Note: If the events A and B are dependent, then from above we have
𝑃 𝐴 ∩ 𝐵 = P(A) . P(B/A) = P(B) . P(A/B)
Where, P(A/B) is the conditional probability of A given that B has already occurred and
P(B/A) is the conditional probability of B given that A is already occured.
Example 6: If A and B are two events such that P(A) = 0.45, P(B) = 0.60 and 𝑃 𝐴 ∪ 𝐵 = 0.90,
find P(A/B) and P(B/A).
Example 7: In a certain college, 75% of the students passed in Marketing, 60% of the
students passed in Account and 45% of the students passed in both Marketing and Account.
A student is selected at random. Find the probability that:
(a) He/she passes in Marketing given that he/she has passed in Account.
(b) He/she passes in Account if he/she has passed in Marketing.
Example 8: A man is known to speak truth 3 out of 4 times. He throws a dice and reports that
it is six. Find the probability that it is actually a six.