Year 8 Interactive Maths - Second Edition

Further Probability

Recall that:

The sample space (S) of an experiment is the set of all possible outcomes of any trial of the experiment to be conducted.

An event (E) is a subset of the sample space.  That is, an event is a subset of all possible outcomes.  We refer to this subset of outcomes as favourable outcomes.

The probability of event E occurring is given by

This is often written as:

This result holds only if the outcomes of an experiment are equally likely.

Note:

The events are denoted by capital letters A, B, C, D, E, ...

Example 2

A die is rolled.  Find:

a.  the sample space for this experiment
b.  the probability of obtaining a number less than 4
c.  the probability of obtaining a square number

Solution:

Example 3

A die is rolled.  Find the probability of obtaining:
a.  a 7
b.  a number less than or equal to 6

Solution:

Note:

• It is certain that event A will occur as it contains all 6 possible outcomes.
• 7 is not an outcome of rolling a die as it is not possible.

Example 4

A pack of 52 playing cards consists of four suits, i.e. clubs, spades, diamonds and hearts.  Each suit has 13 cards which are the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king and the ace card.  Clubs and spades are of black colour whereas diamonds and hearts are of red colour.  So, there are 26 red cards and 26 black cards.

Find the probability of drawing from a well-shuffled pack of cards:
a.  a black card
b.  the queen of diamonds
c.  a king

Solution:

Key Terms

favourable outcomes