TOPIC: PROBABILITY
Basic discussion:
1. What is Probability?
Probability is the measure of how likely an event is to happen.
It ranges from 0 (impossible event) to 1 (certain event).
Probability= Favourable outcomes÷ Total outcomes
1. Key Terms in Probability
● Experiment
An action or process that leads to one or more outcomes.
> Example: Tossing a coin.
● Outcome
A possible result of an experiment.
> Example: "Heads" is one outcome of tossing a coin.
● Sample Space (S)
The set of all possible outcomes.
> Tossing a coin: S = {Heads, Tails}
Rolling a die: S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
● Event (E)
A subset of the sample space. It’s what we are measuring the probability of.
> Event E = rolling an even number → E = {2, 4, 6}
What is the probability of rolling a 3 on a fair die?
3. Types of Events
Certain Event:
Always happens.
> Example: Getting a number less than 7 when rolling a standard die.
Impossible Event:
Never happens.
> Example: Rolling an 8 on a standard die.
Equally Likely Events:
Each outcome has an equal chance.
> Coin toss – heads or tails.
Mutually Exclusive Events:
Events that cannot happen at the same time.
> Getting heads and tails in one coin toss.
5. Addition Rule of Probability
If A and B are mutually exclusive, then:
P(E) = P(A) + P(B)
6. Multiplication Rule of Probability
If A and B are independent, then:
P(E) = P(A) × P(B)
> Example: Tossing a coin and rolling a die
P(Heads and 4) = P(Heads) × P(4) =
7. Probability Scale
Probability Meaning
0 Impossible
0.5 Even chance
1 Certain
1) What is the probability of drawing a red card from a standard deck of 52 cards?
2) A bag contains 3 red balls and 5 blue balls. One ball is picked at random.
What is the probability it is red?
3)A fair coin is tossed 5 times. What is the probability of getting at least 3 heads in a row?
4) Dice with Prime Sums
Two fair dice are rolled. What is the probability the sum is a prime number?
Explanation: Prime sums: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 → Count outcomes: 15/36
Answer: 5/12
5)A box has 3 red and 5 blue balls. Two balls are drawn at random without replacement.
What’s the probability at least one is red?
Explanation: Use complement:
P(no red) =
So, P(at least one red) = 1 − 20/56 = 36/56 = 9/14
6)3 people toss a coin. What is the probability that all get the same result?
Explanation: Only two outcomes: all heads or all tails →
7)Two cards are drawn from a standard deck without replacement.
Find the probability that they are of the same suit.
8)A fair coin is tossed repeatedly until heads appears. What is the expected number of tosses?
9)In a group of 23 people, what is the probability that at least two share a birthday?
Explanation: Use complementary probability.
P(no shared birthday) ≈ 0.4927, so answer ≈ 0.5073
10)A box has 1 red and 1 blue ball. Balls are drawn one at a time without replacement.
What’s the probability red is drawn before blue?
Explanation: Only 2 orders: Red-Blue or Blue-Red → Each has ½ chance → Answer: ½
11. What is the expected number of coin tosses to get two consecutive heads?
Explanation: Solve using states or recurrence → Answer: 6
12)From a deck, a card is drawn. It is red. What is the probability it is a heart?
Explanation: Red cards = 26, hearts = 13
P(heart | red) = 13/26 = ½
13)A number from 1 to 100 is chosen at random. What is the probability it’s divisible by 2 or 5?
Explanation: Use inclusion-exclusion:
P = P(2) + P(5) − P(10) = 50/100 + 20/100 − 10/100 = 60%
14)A point is chosen randomly inside a square of side 2. What is the probability it lies inside a
circle of radius 1 centered at the center?
15)What’s the probability that when two dice are rolled, they show the same number?
Explanation: 6 outcomes: (1,1), (2,2), ..., (6,6) → 6/36 = 1/6
16) A drawer has 6 red, 4 blue, and 2 green socks. Two socks are drawn. What’s the probability
they match in color?
17) 3 digits are chosen randomly from 0–9 with replacement. What is the probability all are
different?
18) 3 letters are randomly placed in 3 addressed envelopes. What’s the probability none goes
into the correct envelope?
19) From a deck of 52, two cards are drawn. What’s the probability both are aces?
20) A coin is flipped until a tail appears. What is the probability the tail appears on the 3rd toss?
21. Conditional Probability – Dice
A die is rolled and it lands even. What is the probability it is a 4?
22) A box contains red and black balls. If the number of black balls is fixed at 3, how many red
balls must be added so the probability of drawing black is less than 1/5?
