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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

H2 Mathematics (9758)
Chapter 17 Probability
Lecture Notes

Curriculum Objectives

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to:


1. understand that the probability of an event measures how likely the event will occur;
2. construct a table of possible outcomes to calculate probabilities; and understand that the
total probability of all the possible outcomes is equal to 1;
3. use a Venn diagram to interpret and calculate probabilities such as P(A′), P(A  B) and
P( A  B ) ;
4. calculate probabilities using P(A′) = 1 – P(A);
5. calculate probabilities using the addition principle: P(A  B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A  B);
6. calculate probabilities using permutations and combinations;
7. understand the meaning of mutually exclusive events, and recognize events that are, or are
not, mutually exclusive through practical examples; determine if two events A and B are
mutually exclusive; and calculate probabilities when A and B are mutually exclusive;
P( A  B )
8. understand and calculate conditional probability P(AB) = ;
P( B )
9. calculate probabilities using the multiplication principle: P(A  B )  P( A)P( B | A) ;
10. understand the meaning of independent events; determine if two events A and B are
independent; and calculate probabilities when A and B are independent;
11. construct a tree diagram and use it to interpret and calculate probabilities, including
probabilities of combined events and conditional probabilities.

INTRODUCTION

Probability can be described as the mathematics of uncertainty. In our everyday life, we


frequently use words such as 'certain', 'impossible' and 'probable' to describe our impression of
whether a particular event will or will not occur. Experience tells us that events have a particular
chance or probability of occurring and mathematicians prefer the use of a numerical value to
indicate the likelihood of (or belief in) the occurrence of a particular event.

Perhaps it is man’s desire to win at gambling that has led to the early development of probability
theory. In an effort to increase their winnings, gamblers called upon the mathematicians to
provide the optimum strategies for various games of chance. Some of the great mathematicians
providing these strategies were Pascal, Leibniz, Fermat and James Bernoulli.

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§1 Terminology Used in Probability

1. An experiment (or trial) is any course of action having an observable consequence or


outcome, and can be repeated under the same set of conditions.
For example, Experiment : tossing a die and observing the score on the upper face

2. A random experiment is an experiment whose outcome cannot be predicted with


certainty.

3. An outcome of an experiment is a result which is obtained from the experiment.

4. The sample space (or possibility space) S of an experiment is the set of all possible
outcomes of the experiment.

5. A sample point is an element of the sample space S.

6. An event is a particular situation that can arise during the experiment. An event may be
a single outcome in S or several outcomes, that is, an event is a subset of the sample
space.

7. Equally likely outcomes are outcomes which have equal chances of occurring.

8. "Drawn at random" or "at random" means all outcomes are equally likely to occur.

9. A sample space where all outcomes are equally likely is known as a uniform space.

Examples Random experiment Sample Space S An event A


1 Toss an unbiased coin S  HH, HT, TH, TT At least one head is
twice and note its result. obtained:
A  HH, HT, TH
2 Draw a card at random S      A black suit is
from a pack of 52 playing obtained:
cards and note its suit. A   
3 A fair six-sided die is S  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 An even number is
thrown and the score for obtained:
each throw is noted. A  2, 4, 6

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Set Notation

Let A, B be two events of an experiment.

1. A  B : union of events A and B i.e. event that either A or B occurs (or both)
S
A B

2. A  B : intersection of events A and B i.e. event that both A and B occur.


S
A B

3. A : complement of event A i.e. event that A does not occur.


S

Note:
(i) ( A  B)  A  B (ii)  A  B   A  B
S S
A A B
B

(iii) A   A  B'    A  B  (iv) If A is a subset of B i.e. A  B , then A  B  A.


S S
S
A B
A A B OR
B

A B
AB
A is a proper
subset of B
S
(v) A \ B is the event ‘A occurs but B does not’. A
B

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§2 Definition of Probability

There are 2 approaches to the definition of probability, namely (1) experimental


(or empirical) and (2) classical (or theoretical). We will focus on (2).

Classical (or Theoretical) Definition

If the sample space S consists of a finite number of equally likely outcomes, then
the probability of event A written as P(A) is defined as

no. of elements in A n(A)


P( A)  
no. of elements in S n(S )

For example, when two fair coins are tossed:


Event A: Two heads are obtained
The four possible outcomes are (H,H), (H,T), (T,H) and (T,T)
n( A) 1
Therefore, P(A) =  .
n( S ) 4

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

2.1 Probability Rules

Let S be the sample space of an experiment and A, B be any two events.

Rule 1: 0  P( A)  1

Note:
(i) P     0 i.e.  is an impossible event.

E.g. Event A: “Obtaining a score 7 when tossing a fair die”


Since A is an impossible event, P( A)  0 .

(ii) P  S   1 i.e. S is a sure or certain event.

E.g. Event B: “Obtaining a score less than or equal to 6 when tossing a fair die”
Since B is a certain event, P( B)  1 .

(iii) If C  D, then P  C   P  D  .
E.g. Event C: “Obtaining a score of 2 when tossing a fair die”
Event D: “Obtaining a score less than or equal to 3 when tossing a fair die”
Since obtaining a score of 2 is one of the outcomes of obtaining a score less than or equal to
3, C  D, hence P  C   P  D  .

Rule 2: P  A'   1  P  A  (Complement)


S
A B
Rule 3: P  A  B   P  A   P  B   P  A  B 
Rule 3 is also known as the Principle of Inclusion &
Exclusion/Addition principle.

Rule 4: Total probability of all possible outcomes is equal to 1.

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Example 1

A die with score faces 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 is weighted such that when the biased die is tossed, the
probability of the score obtained is proportional to the score. Let A be the event “the score is
even”, B be the event “the score is a prime number” and C be the event “the score is odd”. Find
(i) the probability of each possible outcome,
(ii) the probability of P( A ) , P( B ) , P(C ) ,
(iii) the probability of P( A  B ) .

Eg 1 Solutions
(i) The probability of outcome is proportional to the score, P( n )  kn , where k is a
positive constant.

(ii) P  A   P 2, 4, 6 

P  B   P 2, 3, 5  

P  C   P 1, 3, 5  

(iii) PA B 

In general, the following are some strategies deployed in the calculation of probabilities:

1) Listing or constructing a table of possible outcomes (Section 3.1),


2) Venn Diagrams (Section 3.2),
3) Permutations & Combinations (Section 3.3),
4) Tree Diagrams (Section 7)

Within each method, there will also be the use of laws/ principles and formulae.

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§3 Possible Methods of Solving

3.1 Listing or constructing a table of possible outcomes

This method is useful when the number of possible outcomes is small and can be listed out.

Example 2

Two fair dice are thrown and the score on the top face of each die is noted.
Calculate the probability that
(i) the sum of the two scores is 7,
(ii) the product of the two scores is a multiple of 3,
(iii) the product of the two scores is odd.

Eg 2 Solutions
(i) We can construct tables like these:
+ 1 2 3 4 5 6  1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 1 2 3 4 5 6
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2 2 4 6 8 10 12
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3 3 6 9 12 15 18
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4 4 8 12 16 20 24
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 5 5 10 15 20 25 30
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 6 6 12 18 24 30 36
Outcomes with sum of 2 scores is 7  1, 6  ,  2,5  ,  3, 4  ,  4,3 ,  5, 2  ,  6,1
P  sum of 2 scores  7  

(ii) Outcomes with product of scores is a multiple of 3


 1,3 , 1,6  ,  2,3 ,  2, 6  ,  3,1 ,  ,  3,6  ,  4,3  ,  4, 6  ,  5,3  ,  5,6  ,  6,1 , ,  6, 6 

P  product of scores is a multiple of 3 

(iii) P  product of 2 scores is odd  

Self Practice 1: 2010/RI/P2/6 (Modified)


1
A six-sided die is thrown. The probability of getting a ‘1’ is p , where 0  p  , and the
15
probabilities of getting ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’, ‘4’ and ‘5’ are consecutive terms of an arithmetic progression
with common difference p .
Show the probability of getting ‘6’ is 1  15 p . [2]
The die is thrown twice and event A is defined as the sum of the scores of the two throws is at least
10.
Find P(A) in terms of p. [3]
[Answer: 1  12 p  20 p 2 ]

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

3.2 Venn Diagram

This method is useful when you can define the events separately and clearly.

Example 3

In a cafeteria, 70% of the customers order chips and 60% order salad. If 20% of the customers
order salad but not chips, find the probability that
(i) a customer chosen at random orders chips but not salad,
(ii) a customer chosen at random orders chips or salad (or both).

Eg 3 Solutions
(i) Let C be the event “customer orders chips.”
Let D be the event “customer orders salad.”
S
Given: P(C) = C D

P(D) =

(ii)

Self Practice 2: 2009/MJC/P2/9


Cards are drawn at random and without replacement from a deck of 20 cards, which are numbered
1, 2, 3, , 20 .

Find the probability that of three cards drawn from the deck,
(i) all three cards are even;
(ii) exactly one of the three cards is even.
2 , 15 ]
[Answer: 19 38

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

3.3 Permutations and Combinations

Example 4

(a) A committee of 5 is to be randomly selected from a group of 6 men and 9 women. Find
the probability that the committee will consist of 3 men and 2 women.
(b) Calculate the number of distinct 8-letter arrangements which can be made with the letters
of the word DRESSERS. If one of these arrangements is selected at random what is the
probability that it will end with RR?

Eg 4 Solutions
(a)
Required probability =

OR

Required probability
No. of ways to form a committee with 3 men & 2 women

Total no. of ways to form a committee of 5

(b)
No. of arrangements that end with RR =

Total number of arrangements without restrictions =

Required probability
No. of arrangements that end with RR

Total number of arrangements without restrictions

Just in case you didn’t know…

In a standard pack of 52 playing cards, there are:

1. 4 different suits: Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, Hearts


2. Each suit contains 13 cards
3. The cards are numbered from 2 to 10 and there is also a J, Q, K and an A.
4. This means that there are 4 of each character/number. (i.e. 4 Aces, 4 Nines, etc)
5. A picture card refers to J, Q, K cards.

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Example 5

Four cards are drawn at random without replacement from a standard pack of 52 playing cards.
(i) Find the probability that all are clubs.
(ii) Find the probability that there are exactly two diamonds.
(iii) Deduce the probability that at least one of the four cards is not a club.

Eg 5 Solutions
(i) Method 1
P (all are clubs)
 P(CCCC )

Method 2
P (all are clubs)
No. of ways to obtain 4 clubs w/o replacement

No. of ways to obtain 4 cards w/o replacement

(ii) Method 1
P (exactly 2 diamonds)
 P  D ' D ' DD , D ' DD ' D , D ' DDD ', DD ' D ' D, DD ' DD ', DDD ' D ' 

Method 2
P (exactly 2 diamonds) =

(iii) P  at least 1 is not a club  

Extension: Would method 2 be applicable if the question was changed to “with replacement”?

Answer: No. Eg. P (all are clubs) 

Self Practice 3: 2011/JJC/P2/7


For events A and B, it is given that P( A' )  0.3 , P( B' )  0.6 and P( A'  B) = 0.12.

Find P( A  B) . [2]
[Answer: 0.28 ]
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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§4 Conditional Probability

Consider two events A and B.

The conditional probability of A given B, written as P( A | B ), is the probability that A occurs


given that B has already occurred.

For example,

Every scholarship candidate is given a rating of either excellent (E) or acceptable (A) for each
of the two criteria of analytical skills (C1) and leadership potential (C2).

Number of candidates who were Paired ratings of C1 and C2


Scholarship
awarded the scholarship
EE EA AE AA
S1 300 120 100 70 10
S2 300 70 120 90 20
S3 400 150 150 90 10

Find the probability that a randomly chosen candidate is awarded a S1 scholarship given that
he obtained a rating EE.

120
Then the required probability  P(S1 EE ) =
120  70  150
n  S1  EE  S

n  EE  S1 EE
n  S1  EE  reduced
sample
 n  S space
n  EE 
n  S
P  S1  EE 

P  EE 

In general, for P(B)  0, then the conditional probability of A given B is given by

P  A  B n  A  B
P A | B  
P  B n  B

Note:
1. In general, P  A | B   P  B | A  . (See Example 6)
2. P A  B  P  B P  A | B

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Example 6

A card is picked at random from an ordinary pack of 52 playing cards. Given that a heart is
chosen, find the probability that it is a picture card.

Eg 6 Solutions
Method 1 (Full Sample Space)
Let H be the event: “Card is a heart’
Let C be the event: “Card is a picture”
P(C  H )
Need P  C | H  
P( H )

Thus P(C | H ) 

Method 2 (Reduced Sample Space)


Let H be the event: “Card is a heart’
Let C be the event: “Card is a picture”

Reduced sample space: n( H )  13


We know that the card is a heart, thus we have only 13 possible outcomes and out of
those 13 there are 3 picture cards!

n(C  H )
Thus P(C | H )  
n(H )

Extension: Find the probability that a heart is chosen, given that it is a picture card.

P(C  H )
Answer: P( H | C )   Note:
P(C )
P( H | C )  P(C | H )

Self Practice 4: 2008/CJC/P2/7


The probability that John goes to school by MRT, by Bus and by Car are respectively 0.4, 0.5 and
0.1. John is late for school 5% of the time if he takes the MRT. The corresponding figures for Bus
and Car are 6% and 1%. Find the probability that John does not take the MRT given that he is late
for school. [4]
31
[Answer: ]
51

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§5 Independent Events

Two events A and B are said to be independent if the occurrence of A does not affect the
occurrence of B and vice versa.

For example, consider an experiment: 'Toss a coin and throw a die simultaneously.'

If events A and B be defined as follows:


A : the score on the upper face of the die is greater than 4
B : the coin shows a head,

then A and B are independent events.

If A and B are independent,


A' and B are also independent,
A and B' are also independent,
A' and B' are also independent.

A and B are independent if and only if


(i) P A | B  P A or
(ii) P  B | A  P  B  or
(iii) P  A  B   P  A P  B 

Example 7 (2010/P2/7 modified)

For events A, B and C, it is given that P  A   0.7 , P  B   0.6 , P  C   0.5


and P  A ' B   0.22 and that A and C are independent. Find P  A ' C  . [2]

Eg 7 Solutions

Page 13 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§6 Mutually Exclusive Events

Two events A and B are said to be mutually exclusive (i.e. disjoint) if they cannot occur
simultaneously. There is no intersection between the events A and B (i.e. A  B =  ).

S
A B

Events A and B are mutually exclusive  P  A  B   0 or P  A  B   P  A   P  B 

What are some examples of mutually exclusive events?

Event A Event B

1 a head appears when tossing a coin a tail appears when tossing a coin

the card is a club when a card is drawn the card is a diamond when a card is drawn
2
from an ordinary pack of 52 playing cards from an ordinary pack of 52 playing cards

For example, consider two fair dice being thrown, and events A and B being defined as follows:
A : the two scores are equal
B : the sum of the two scores is odd.
Are A and B both mutually exclusive? If so, give a reason.

Since the __________________________________________________, ________________

and hence, events A and B are ____________________________________.

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Example 8

A card is drawn from an ordinary pack of 52 playing cards. Find the probability that the card is
(a) a club or a king, (b) a club or a diamond.

Eg 8 Solutions
(a) Let C be the event ‘the card is a club’,
D be the event ‘the card is a diamond’ and
K be the event ‘the card is a king’.
Required Probability

Note:
Since a card can be both a King and a club (King of clubs), hence C and K are not
mutually exclusive.
(b) Required probability =

Note:
Since a card cannot be both club and diamonds at the same time, hence C and D are
mutually exclusive.

Example 9 (2010/P2/7 modified)

For events A, B and C, it is given that P  A   0.7 , P  B   0.6 , P  C   0.5


and P  A ' B   0.22 , and that A and C are independent.
(i) Find P  A ' C  . [2]
(ii) Hence state an inequality satisfied by P  A ' B  C  . [1]
Eg 9 Solutions
(i) From Example 7, P  A ' C   0.15.
(ii) P  A ' C   0.15
S A B

Self Practice 5: 2009/RI/P2/6


Two events A and B are such that P  A   0.2 and P  A  B   0.6 .

Find P  B  if
(i) A and B are mutually exclusive,
(ii) A and B are independent.
[Answer: 0.4 , 0.5 ]

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§7 Tree Diagrams

(a) A probability tree diagram is useful tool for calculating the probability of events that can
be broken down into a chain of sequential events.
(b) The root of the trees is usually left blank but is convenient to think of it as representing
the sample space S.
(c) Each node, A, B, D and D ' represents an event.
(d) The number indicated on each branch after the first branch represents the conditional
probability of the event at the end node given that all the events at the previous nodes
have occurred.

For example,

A
P  A
D'

D
P  B
B

D'

Recall: The probability that D occurs given that A has already occurred is the
conditional probability of D given A and is denoted by P( D | A) .

Note:
1. P( A)  P( B )  1

2. P( D | A)  P( D ' | A)  1 ; P( D | B )  P( D ' | B )  1 ;

3. By multiplication principle, P(A  D )  P( A)P( D | A)


Similarly for P(A  D ' ) , P(B  D ) , P(B  D ' ) .

4. P(D )  P( A)P( D | A)  P( B )P( D | B )  P( A  D )  P( B  D )

Page 16 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Example 10

Three machines A, B, C produce 50%, 30% and 20% respectively of the total number of items
of a factory. The percentages of defective output of these machines are 3%, 4% and 5%
respectively.
(i) If an item is selected at random, find the probability that the item is produced by machine
A and is defective.
(ii) If an item is selected at random, find the probability that the item is defective.

Eg 10 Solutions
(i)

D D : item is defective
: item is non-defective
A
D'

D
B
D'

D
C
D'

Required probability

(ii) Required probability


=

Page 17 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Example 11 (N2007/P2/10)
A player throws three darts at a target. The probability that he is successful in hitting the target
1
with his first throw is . For each of his second and third throw, the probability of success is
8
 twice the probability of success on the preceding throw if that throw was successful,
 the same as the probability of success on the preceding throw if that throw was
unsuccessful.
Construct a probability tree showing this information. [3]
Find
(i) the probability that at least two throws are successful, [2]
(ii) the probability that the third throw is successful given that exactly two of the three throws
are successful. [4]

Eg 11 Solutions
Event S: the throw
(i)
is successful
1st throw
Event S’: the throw
is unsuccessful

S S’
2nd throw ‘

S S’ S S’

3rd throw

S S’ S S’ S S’ S S’
P(at least 2 successful throws) 

(ii) P(3rd throw successful | exactly 2 successful throws)

Self Practice 6: 2008/SAJC/P2/8


A student has requested for a testimonial to apply for a job. She estimates that there is an 80%
chance of getting the job if she receives an excellent testimonial, a 40% chance if she receives a
moderately good testimonial and a 10% chance if she receives a fair testimonial. She further
estimates that the probabilities that the testimonial will be excellent, moderate or fair are 0.7, 0.2
and 0.1 respectively.
Draw a tree diagram to illustrate the information and calculate the exact probability of the student
getting the job. [2]
[Answer: 0.65 ]

Page 18 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

§8 Miscellaneous Exercise (Cross Topical)

Example 12

Jack and Mary plays a game in which a fair coin is tossed. The one obtaining head first wins
the game. If Jack and Mary toss successively with Jack tossing first, find the probability that
(i) Jack wins the game in no more than 5 tosses of the coin.
(ii) Jack wins the game.

Eg 12 Solutions
(i) Let H be the event: “A head comes up”. Let T be the event: “A tail comes up”.

1st toss
H T

2nd toss

H T

3rd toss

H T

4th toss
H T

5th toss

H T
If the coin is tossed no more than five times,
P(Jack wins) 

(ii) If the coin is tossed until a head turns up,


P(Jack wins) 

Page 19 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Summary:

no. of elementsin A n( A)
P( A)  
no. of elementsin S n(S)

Results: 1) 0  P( A)  1
2) P(A′) = 1 – P(A)

Addition principle:
P(A  B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A  B)

Multiplication principle:
P(A  B )  P( A)P( B | A)

Conditional Probability:
P(A  B ) n(A  B )
P(BA) = or
P(A) n(A)

Events
Occurrence of one event does not
Cannot occur at
affect the occurrence of the other event
the same time

Mutually Exclusive Events Independent Events


P( A  B )  0 P(AB) = P(A) or P(BA) = P(B)

To determine whether two events A and To determine whether two events A and B
B are mutually exclusive, check if are independent, check if

P( A  B )  0 or P A | B  P A or
P( A  B)  P( A)  P( B ) PB | A  P B  or
P(A  B )  P( A)P( B )

Problem solving involves:


1. Counting/Listing/Table 2. Venn Diagram
3. Permutations and Combinations 4. Tree Diagram

Page 20 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Annex:
Proofs of Probability Laws

Let S be the sample space of an experiment and A, B be any two events.

Law 1: 0  P( A)  1

Proof: Since   A  S , therefore n(  )  n(A)  n(S) (where n(  ) = 0)


0 n(A) n(S )
  
n(S ) n(S ) n(S )
 0  P( A)  1

Law 2:  
P A '  1  P A

Proof:
n(A ' )  n  S   n  A
n(A ') n(A)
 1
n(S ) n(S )
P(A ' )  1  P  A

Law 3: P(A  B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A  B)

Proof: n  A  B
P  A  B 
S n S 
A B a bc
a c b 
n S 


 a  c   b  c   c
n S 
n  A n  B  n  A  B 
  
n S  n S  n S 
 P  A  P  B   P  A  B 

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Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Proof of conditional probability of A given B

If A and B are two events and P(B)  0, then the conditional probability of A given B

n (A  B )
P( A | B) 
n (B )

Proof: S P(A  B )
P( A | B ) 
A B P(B )
reduced n(A  B ) n(B )
sample  
n(S ) n(S )
space
n(A  B )

n(B )

Page 22 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

Warm Up Questions

1 A bag contains 5 blue balls and 4 red balls. Four balls are drawn at random from the bag,
without replacement. Calculate the probability that at least two blue balls are drawn.

2 A random sample of 200 adults is classified below according to gender and their highest
level of education attained.
Male Female
Secondary 38 45
College 28 50
University 22 17
A person is selected at random from this group.
(i) Find the probability that the person is a male, given that the person has a college
education as the highest level of education attained.
(ii) It is known that the person is a female. Find the probability that the person does not
have a university degree as the highest level of education attained.

3
Laptop Games
48 10 55 machine
20
12 15
x
130
Tablet

A group of students are asked whether they own any of a laptop, a tablet and a games
machine. The numbers owning different combinations are shown in the Venn diagram.
The number of students owning none of these is x. One of the students is chosen at
random.
L is the event that the student owns a laptop.
T is the event that the student owns a tablet.
G is the event that the student owns a games machine.

(i) Write down expressions for P(L) and P(G) in terms of x. Given that L and G are
independent, show that x = 10. [4]

Using this value of x, find


(ii) P(L  T ), [1]
(iii) P(T  G '), [1]
(iv) P(L G ). [1]

Two students from the whole group are chosen at random.


(v) Find the probability that both of these students each owns exactly two out of the
three items (laptop, tablet, games machine). [3]

Page 23 of 24
Chapter 17 Probability TMJC 2023

4 N2008/P2/7
A computer game simulates a tennis match between two players, A and B. The match
consists of at most three sets. Each set is won by either A or B, and the match is won by
the first player to win two sets.

The simulation uses the following rules.


 The probability that A wins the first set is 0.6.
 For each set after the first, the conditional probability that A wins that set, given that
A won the preceding set, is 0.7.
 For each set after the first, the conditional probability that B wins that set, given that
B won the preceding set, is 0.8.

Calculate the probability that


(i) A wins the second set, [2]
(ii) A wins the match, [3]
(iii) B won the first set, given that A wins the match. [2]

Answer Key
1 5
6
2 14 95
(i) (ii)
39 112
3 47 71 3 111
(ii) (iii) (iv) (v)
60 150 10 7475
4 7
(i) 0.5 (ii) 0.512 (iii)
64

Page 24 of 24

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