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Probability

Define an event and the possible outcomes before calculating its probability. Use fractions to describe chance and check whether successive events are independent.

Fraction pieces and simple shapes illustrate relationships between numbers.

What you’ll learn

  • Describe an event and its possible outcomes.
  • Calculate a simple probability when outcomes are equally likely.
  • Recognize when a first event changes the probabilities for the next.

Start with the experiment and its assumptions

List the possible outcomes and identify the event you care about. The fraction favorable outcomes/total outcomes applies directly when the individual outcomes are equally likely.

Track what changes between events

Replacing a drawn object can restore the original probabilities; keeping it out changes the available objects. State that choice before combining probabilities across draws.

A mistake to avoid

Two named categories are not automatically equally likely. A bag with more red objects than blue does not give a one-half chance of each color just because there are two color names.

Worked example

Draw from a bag with 3 red and 2 blue counters

If every counter is equally likely to be drawn, P(red) = 3/5. If a red counter is drawn and not replaced, the remaining bag has 2 red counters out of 4, so the next draw’s chance of red is 2/4.

Learning paths that include this skill

Choose the route that fits your goal. The same skill can be useful in more than one subject or stage of learning.