Chapter 14: Probability - Village Christian School

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Chapter 5-2

The Idea of Probability

AP Statistics

Classical Definition

The probability of an event E , denoted

P(E), is:

  # of outcomes favorable to E

# of outcomes in the sample space

 Note: This method for calculating probabilities is ONLY appropriate when the outcomes of an experiment are equally likely.

For example, rolling a die or selecting a card

from a deck are experiments that have equally likely outcomes.

The Relative Approach

When it’s difficult to find a probability, sometimes we use a relative approach and an alternate definition for probability:

  # of times E occurs

# of trials as the # of trials becomes very large

From a lopsided-die, how would we find the

P(3)?

# of times a 3 is rolled total # of times the die is rolled

Forming New Events

Two events that have no outcomes in common are said to be disjoint or mutually exclusive .

ex: Bobby Fisher and Borris Spassky are playing chess:

How many possible outcomes are there?

 There are three possibilities…

Bobby Fisher winns, Borris wins, or there is a draw

(neither win).

Can Bobby win if Borris wins?

Can Borris win if Bobby wins?

Can either win when there is a draw?

Probability

Venn Diagrams and Probabilities:

 How do the Raiders Perform when it rains?

Worksheet

Basic Rules of Probability

Forming New Events

1.

Let A and B denote 2 events:

The event not A consists of all experimental outcomes that are not in event A. This event is often called the complement of A.

2.

3.

The event A or B consists of all experimental outcomes that are in at least one of the two events, that is, in A, in B, or in both A and B.

This event is called the union of events A and

B

The event A and B consists of all experimental outcomes that are in BOTH of the events A and B. This event is called the intersection of events A and B

Examples

1.

Find the probability of each of the following:

P(rolling a 6) = ?

2.

3.

4.

P(rolling an even #) = ?

P(drawing the queen of spades) = ?

P(drawing any queen) = ?

Which of these events are simple events ?

Here are some events where the outcomes are not equally likely:

Letter grade on the next exam:

P(A) ≠ P(B) ≠ P(C) ≠ P(D) ≠ P(F) ≠ 1 / 5

If the probabilities are not equally likely, you cannot use the classical definition.

The Relative Approach

What is the probability of drawing a face card if I have a messed up collection of cards that includes several decks that have been mixed together with many of the cards missing?

If I were to draw a card from the scrambled deck, what are the possible outcomes? Are they equally likely??

How can I estimate P(face card)?

I can repeatedly draw cards and keep track of the ratio:

P ( face card)

# of face cards total # of cards drawn

Forming New Events

List all possible outcomes in the following events:

A c 

A B

A B

A

B c 

A

A c 

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