5.

16 Theory and Exercise Book

SECTION - A 5. A determinant is chosen at random from the set of

SAMPLE SPACE DEFINITION, ODDS IN FAVOR, all determinant of order 2 with elements 0 or 1 only.
A PERMUTATION & COMBINATION The probability that the determinant chosen has the
BASED PROBLESM
value non negative is
1. From a pack of 52 playing cards, face cards and (A) 3/16 (B) 6/16
tens are removed and kept aside then a card is drawn
(C) 10/16 (D) 13/16
at random from the remaining cards. If
A : The event that the card drawn is an ace
6. Two cubes have their faces painted either red or
H : The event that the card drawn is a heart
blue. The first cube has five red faces and one blue
S : The event that the card drawn is a spade
face. When the two cubes are rolled simultaneously,
then which of the following holds ?
the probability that the two top faces show the same
(A) 9P(A) = 4P(H)
colour is 1/2. Number of red faces on the second
(B) P(S) = 4P(A  H)
cube, is
(C) 3P(H) = 4P(A  S)
(A) 1 (B) 2
(D) P(H) = 12P(A  S)
(C) 3 (D) 4
2. 5 persons entered the lift cabin on the ground floor
of an 8 floor building. Suppose that each of them 7. A is one of the 6 horses entered for a race and is to
independently and with equal probability, can leave be ridden by one of two jockeys B or C. It is 2 to 1
the cabin at any other floor, starting from the first. that B rides A, in which case all the horses are
The probability that all 5 persons leave at different equally likely to win, if C rides A, his chance is
floors is trebled. Then the odds against his winning are
(A) 5/13 (B) 18/5
5 8
5 C5 (C) 13/18 (D) 13/5
(A)   (B)
8 85

5! 8
C5 5! 8. Lot A consists of 3G and 2D articles. Lot B consists
(C) 5 (D)
8 85 of 4G and 1D article. A new lot C is formed by
taking 3 articles from A and 2 from B. The
3. There are ten prizes, five A’s, three B’s and two
probability that an article chosen at random from C
C’s, placed in identical sealed envelopes for the top
ten contestants in a mathematics contest. The prizes is defective, is
(A) 1/3 (B) 2/5
are awarded by allowing winners to select an
envelope at random from those remaining. When (C) 8/25 (D) None of these
the 8th contestant goes to select the prize, the
probability that the remaining three prizes are one 9. An Urn contains ‘m’ white and ‘n’ black balls. All
A, one B and one C, is the balls except for one ball, are drawn from it. The
(A) 1/4 (B) 1/3 probability that the last ball remaining in the Urn is
(C) 1/12 (D) 1/10 white, is
m n
4. A license plate is 3 letters (of English alphabets) (A) (B)
m+n m+n
followed by 3 digits. If all possible license plates
are equally likely, the probability that a plate has 1 mn
(C) (m + n)! (D) (m + n)!
either a letter palindrome or a digit palindrome (or
both), is
7 9 10. If two of the 64 squares are chosen at random on a
(A) (B) chess board, the probability that they have a side in
52 65
common is
8 (A) 1/9 (B) 1/18
(C) (D) None of these
65 (C) 2/7 (D) none
394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota
 Probability 5.17

11. A child throws 2 fair dice. If the numbers showing 16. A bowl has 6 red marbles and 3 green marbles.
are unequal, he adds them together to get his final The probability that a blind folded person will draw
score. On the other hand, if the numbers showing a red marble on the second draw from the bowl
are equal, he throws 2 more dice & adds all 4 without replacing the marble from the first draw, is
numbers showing to get his final score. The (A) 2/3 (B) 1/4
probability that his final score is 6 is (C) 5/12 (D) 5/8
145 146
(A) (B) 17. Two cards are drawn from a well shuffled pack of
1296 1296
52 playing cards one by one. If
147 148 A : the event that the second card drawn is an ace
(C) (D)
1296 1296 and
B : the event that the first card drawn in an ace
12. If a, b and c are three numbers (not necessarily card.
different) chosen randomly and with replacement then which of the following is true ?
from the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, the probability that (ab + 4 1
c) is even, is (A) P(A) = ; P(B) =
17 13
50 59
(A) (B) 1 1
125 125 (B) P(A) = ; P(B) =
13 13
64 75
(C) (D) 1 1
125 125 (C) P(A) = ; P(B) =
13 17

SECTION - B 16 4
(D) P(A) = ; P(B) =
VENN DIAGRAM BSED PROBLEMS 221 51
13. Three numbers are chosen at random without
replacement from {1, 2, 3 ...., 10}. The probability SECTION - D
that the minimum of the chosen numbers is 3 or MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE,
their maximum is 7 is EXHAUSTIVE, INDEPENDENT EVENTS
(A) 1/2 (B) 1/3 18. A & B are two independent events such that
(C) 1/4 (D) 11/40 P(A) = 0.7, P(B) = a & P ( A  B )  0.8 , then a is
(A) 5/7 (B) 2/7
14. Let A & B be two events. Suppose P(A) = 0.4,
(C) 1 (D) None of these
P(B) = p & P(A  B) = 0.7. The value of p for
which A & B are independent is
(A) 1/3 (B) 1/4 19. If atleast one child in a family with 3 children is a
(C) 1/2 (D) 1/5 boy then the probability that 2 of the children are
boys, is
(A) 3/7 (B) 4/7
SECTION - C (C) 1/3 (D) 3/8
CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY
SECTION - E
15. Before a race the chance of three runners, A, B, C
TOTAL PROBABILITY THEOREM
were estimated to be proportional to 5, 3, 2, but
during the race A meets with an accident which 20. An urn contains 3 red balls and n white balls. Mr. A
reduces his chance to 1/3. If the respective chance draws two balls together from the urn. The
of B and C are P(B) and P(C) then probability that they have the same colour is 1/2.
Mr. B draws one ball from the urn, notes its colour
(A) P(B) = 4 (B) P(C) = 4 and replaces it. He then draws a second ball from
15 15
the urn and finds that both balls have the same
colour is, 5/8. The possible value of n is
(C) P(C) = 2 (D) P(A) = 4
5 15 (A) 9 (B) 6
(C) 5 (D) 1

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5.18 Theory and Exercise Book

21. A purse contains 2 six sided dice. One is a normal

fair die, while the other has 2 ones, 2 threes and 2 SECTION - G
fives. A die is picked up and rolled. Because of PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTION
some secret magnetic attraction of the unfair die, 24. The probability that a radar will detect an object in
there is 75% chance of picking the unfair die and a one cycle is p. The probability that the object will
25% chance of picking a fair die. The die is rolled be detected in n cycles is
and shows up the face 3. The probability that a fair (A) 1 – pn (B) 1 – (1 – p)n
die was picked up, is (C) pn (D) p (1 – p)n – 1
1 1
(A) (B) 25. A biased coin with probability P, 0 < P < 1, of heads
7 4
is tossed until a head appears for the first time. If
1 1 the probability that the number of tosses required is
(C) (D)
6 24 even is 2/5, then the value of P is
(A) 1/4 (B) 1/6
SECTION - F (C) 1/3 (D) 1/2
BAYE’S THEOREM
22. Two buses A and B are scheduled to arrive at a 26. A examination consists of 8 questions in each of
town central bus station at noon. The probability which one of the 5 alternatives is the correct one.
On the assumption that a candidate who has done
that bus A will be late is 1/5. The probability that
no preparatory work chooses for each question any
bus B will be late is 7/25. The probability that the
one of the five alternatives with equal probability,
bus B is late given that bus A is late is 9/10. Then the probability that he gets more than one correct
the probabilities answer is equal to
(i) neither bus will be late on a particular day and (A) (0.8)8 (B) 3(0.8)8
(ii) bus A is late given that bus B is late, are (C) 1 – (0.8) 8
(D) 1 – 3 (0.8)8
respectively
(A) 2/25 and 12/28 (B) 18/25 and 22/28 SECTION - H
(C) 7/10 and 18/28 (D) 12/25 and 2/28 MISCELLANEOUS PROBLEMS
27. A quadratic equation is chosen from the set of all
23. In a certain factory, machines A, B and C produce quadratic equations which are unchanged by
squaring their roots. The chance that the chosen
bolts. Of their production, machines A, B, and C
equation has equal roots is
produce 2%, 1% and 3% defective bolts (A) 1/2 (B) 1/3
respectively. Machine A produces 35% of the total (C) 1/4 (D) 2/3
output of bolts, machine B produces 25% and
machine C produces 40%. A bolts is chosen at 28. Two numbers a and b are selected from the set of
random from the factory’s production and is found natural number then the probability that a2 + b2 is
to be defective. The probability it was produced on divisible by 5 is
machine C, is (A) 9/25 (B) 7/18
(C) 11/36 (D) 17/81
6 23
(A) (B)
11 45

24 3
(C) (D)
43 11

394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

 Probability 5.19

SAMPLE SPACE DEFINITION, ODDS IN FAVOR, 5. ‘A’ and ‘B’ each have a bag that contains one ball
A PERMUTATION & COMBINATION
BASED PROBLEMS of each of the colours blue, green, orange, red and
1. The number 'a' is randomly selected from the set violet. ‘A’ randomly selects one ball from his bag
{0, 1, 2, 3, .........98, 99}. The number 'b' is selected and puts it into B’s bag. ‘B’ then randomly selects
from the same set. Probability that the number
3a + 7b has a digit equal to 8 at the units place, is one ball from his bag and puts it into A’s bag. The
(A) 1/16 (B) 2/16 probability that after this process the contents of
(C) 4/16 (D) 3/16 the two bags are the same, is

2. Shalu brought two cages of birds : Cage - I contains (A) 1/2 (B) 1/3
5 parrots and 1 owl and Cage - II contains 6 parrots, (C) 1/5 (D) 1/6
as shown. One day Shalu forgot to lock both cages
and two birds flew from Case - I to Cage - II. Then
two birds flew back from Cage - II to Cage - I. MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE,
Assume that all birds have equal chance of flying, EXHAUSITVE, INDEPENDENT EVENTS
6. In a horse race there are 18 horse numbered from
1 to 18. The probability that horse 1 would win is
1 1 1
, horse 2 is and 3 is . Assuming a tie is
6 10 8
impossible, the chance that one of the three horses

the probability that the Owl is still in Cage - I, is wins the race, is
143 119
1 1 (A) (B)
(A) (B) 420 120
6 3
47 1
(C) (D)
120 5
2 3
(C) (D)
3 4
7. From an urn containing six balls, 3 white and 3 black
3. Sixteen players s 1 , s 2 , ..........., s 16 play in a ones, a person selects at random an even number
tournament. They are divided into eight pairs at of balls (all the different ways of drawing an even
random. From each pair a winner is decided on the
number of balls are considered equally probable,
basis of a game played between the two players of
the pair. Assume that all the players are of equal irrespective of their number). Then the probability
strength. The probability that "exactly one of the that there will be the same number of black and
two players s1 & s2 is among the eight winners" is
white balls among them
(A) 4/15 (B) 7/15 (A) 4/5 (B) 11/15

(C) 8/15 (D) 9/15 (C) 11/30 (D) 2/5

CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY BAYE’S THEOREM

4. A traffic light runs repeatedly through the following 8. An urn contains 'm' white and 'n' black balls. Balls
cycle : green for 30 seconds, then yellow for 3
are drawn one by one till all the balls are drawn.
seconds and then red for 30 seconds. Leah picks a
random three-second time interval to watch the light. Probability that the second drawn ball is white, is
What is the probability that the colour changes while m m(m + n – 1)
she is watching ? (A) (B) (m + n)(m + n +1)
m+n
(A) 1/63 (B) 1/21 m(m – 1) mn
(C) (m + n)(m + n – 1) (D) (m + n)(m + n – 1)
(C) 1/10 (D) 1/7

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5.20 Theory and Exercise Book

9. Mr. Dupont is a professional wine taster. When given 10. A can hit a target 4 times out of 5 shots, B thrice in
a French wine, he will identify it with probability 4 shots and C twice in 3 shots. They fire a volley.
0.9 correctly as French and will mistake it for a Two shots hit the target. Find the probability that it
Californian wine with probability 0.1. When given is C who has missed -
a Californian wine, he will identify it with probability 1 13 6
0.8 correctly as Californian and will mistake it for a (A) (B) (C) (D) None
5 30 13
French wine with probability 0.2. Suppose that Mr. MIXED PROBLEMS
Dupont is given ten unlabeled glasses of wine, three
11. 7 persons are stopped on the road at random and
with French and seven with Californian wines. He asked about their birthdays. If the probability that 3
randomly picks a glass, tries the wine and solemnly of them are born on Wednesday, 2 on Thursday
says : “French”. The probability that the wine he
tasted was Californian, is nearly equal to K
and the remaining 2 on Sunday is , then K is
(A) 0.14 (B) 0.24 76
(C) 0.34 (D) 0.44 equal to
(A) 15 (B) 30 (C) 105 (D) 210

VENN DIAGRAM BASED PROBLEMS 5. Two real numbers, x & y are selected at random.
1. Let 0 < P (A) < 1, 0 < P (B) < 1 and Given that 0  x  1 ; 0  y  1. Let A be the event
P (A  B) = P (A) + P (B) – P (A) P (B). Then
that y2  x ; B be the event that x2  y, then
(A) P  B | A  = P(B) – P(A)
1
(B) P( A  B)  P( A)  P( B) (A) P (A  B) =
3
(C) P( A  B)  P( A) P(B) (B) A & B are exhaustive events
(D) P( A | B)  P( A) (C) A & B are mutually exclusive
CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY (D) A & B are independent events.
2. If E1 and E2 are two events such that P(E1) = 1/4,
P(E2|E1) = 1/2 and P(E1|E2) = 1/4 then 6. If A & B are two events such that P(B)  1.
(A) E1 and E2 are independent
B denotes the event complementary to B, then
(B) E1 and E2 are exhaustive
(C) E2 is twice as likely to occur as E1 P ( A) – P ( A  B )
(A) P ( A | B )  1 – P(B)
(D) probabilities of the events E1  E2, E1 and E2
are in G.P. (B) P (A  B)  P(A) + P(B) – 1
3. In a maths paper there are 3 sections A, B & C. (C) P(A) >< P(A|B) according as P(A| B ) >< P(A)
Section A is compulsory. Out of sections B & C a
student has to attempt any one. Passing in the paper (D) P(A| B ) + P( A | B ) = 1
means passing in A & passing in B or C. The
probability of the student passing in A, B & C are p, 7. A pair of fair dice having six faces numbered from
q & 1/2 respectively. If the probability that the 1 to 6 are thrown once, suppose two events E and
student is successful is 1/2 then, which of the F are defined as
following false
E : Product of the two numbers appearing is divisible
(A) p = q = 1 (B) p = q = 1/2
(C) p = 1, q = 0 (D) p = 1, q = 1/2 by 5.
F : At least one of the dice shows up the face one.
MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE,
EXHAUSTIVE, INDEPENDENT EVENTS Then the events E and F are
4. For any two events A & B in a sample space (A) mutually exclusive
A
  P( A)  P( B) –1 (B) independent
(A) P(A|B)
  , P(B)  0 is always true (C) neither independent nor mutually exclusive
 B P( B)
(B) P( A  B)  P( A) – P( A  B) does not hold (D) are equiprobable
(C) P( A  B)  1– P( A) P( B) , if A & B are
independent
(D) P( A  B)  1– P( A) P( B) , if A & B are disjoint
394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

1. Numbers are selected at random, one at a time,
from the two digit numbers 00, 01, 02, ..... ,99 with
replacement. An event E occurs if &only if the
product of the two digits of a select number is 18.
If four numbers are selected, find the probability
that the event E occurs at least 3 times.
2. A room has three electric lamps. From a collection
of 10 electric bulbs of which 6 are good 3 are
selected at random & put in the lamps. Find the
probability that the room is lighted.
3. The chance of one event happening is the square
of the chance of a 2nd event, but odds against the
first are the cubes of the odds against the 2nd. Find
the chances of each. (assume that both events are
neither sure nor impossible).
4. Two cards are drawn from a well shuffled pack of
52 cards. Find the probability that one of them is a
red card & the other is a queen.
5. In a box, there are 8 alphabets cards with the letters:
S, S,A,A,A, H, H, H. Find the probability that the
word 'ASH' will form if
(i) the three cards are drawn one by one & placed on
the table in the same order that they are drawn.
(ii) the three cards are drawn simultaneously.
6. In a building programme the event that all the
materials will be delivered at the correct time is M,
and the event that the building programme will be
completed on time is F . Given that P (M) = 0.8 and
P (M  F)= 0.65, find P (F|M). If P(F) = 0.7, find
the probability that the building programme will be
completed on time if all the materials are not
delivered at the correct time.
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Probability 5.21
7. The probability that an archer hits the target when
it is windy is 0.4; when it is not windy, her probability
of hitting the target is 0.7. On any shot, the
probability of a gust of wind is 0.3. Find the
probability that
(a) She hit the target on first shot
(b) Hits the target exactly once in two shots
8. A box contains 5 radio tubes of which 2 are
defective. The tubes are tested one after the other
until the 2 defective tubes are discovered. Find the
probability that the process stopped on the .
(i) Second test ; (ii) Third test. If the process
stopped on the third test, find the probability that
the first tube is non defective.
9. A cube with all six faces coloured is cut into 64
cubical blocks of the same size which are
thoroughly mixed. Find the probability that the 2
randomly chosen blocks have 2 coloured faces each.
10. Let A & B be two events defined on a sample space.
Given P (A) = 0.4; P(B) = 0.80 and
P( A / B)  0.10 .Then find (i) P( A  B) &
P[( A  B)  ( A  B)]
11. A certain drug, manufactured by a Company is
tested chemically for its toxic nature. Let the event
"THE DRUG IS TOXIC" be denoted by H & the
event "THE CHEMICAL TEST REVEALS THAT
THE DRUG IS TOXIC" be denoted by S. Let P(H)
= a, P(S|H) = p(S | H) =1 – a. Then show that the
probability that the drug is not toxic given that the
chemical test reveals that it is toxic, is free from 'a'.
12. Consider the following events for a family with
children
A = {of both the genders} ;B = {at most one boy}
In which of the following (are/is) the events A and
B are independent.
(a) if a family has 3 children
(b) if a family has 2 children
Assume that the birth of a boy or a girl is equally
likely mutually exclusive and exhaustive.
5.22 Theory and Exercise Book
13. The probabilities that three men hit a target are,
respectively, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.4. Each fires once at
the target. (As usual, assume that the three events
that each hits the target are independent)
(a) Find the probability that they all
(i) hit the target ; (ii) miss the target
(b) Find the probability that the target is hit
(i) at least once ; (ii) exactly once.
(c) If only one hits the target, what is the probability
that it was the first man ?
14. Three shots are fired independently at a target in
succession. The probabilities that the target is hit in
the first shot is 1/2, in the second 2/3 and in the
third shot is 3/4.ln case of exactly one hit, the
probability of destroying the target is 1/3 and in the
case of exactly two hits, 7/11 and in the case of
three hits is 1.0. Find the probability of destroying
the target in three shots.
15. During a power blackout, 100 persons are arrested
on suspect of looting. Each is given a polygraph
test. From past experience it is know that the
polygraph is 90% reliable when administered to a
guilty person and – 98% reliable when given to some
one who is innocent. Suppose that of the 100 persons
taken into custody, only 12 were actually involved
in any wrong doing. lf the probability that a given
suspect is innocent given that the photograph says
he is guilty is a/b where a and b are relatively prime,
find the value of (a + b).
16. The ratio of the number of trucks along a highway,
on which a petrol pump is located, to the number of
cars running along the same highway is 3 : 2. It is
known that an average of one truck in thirty trucks
and two cars in fifty cars stop at the petrol pump to
be filled up with the fuel. If a vehicle stops at the
petrol pump to be filled up with the fuel, find the
probability that it is a car.
17. A batch of fifty radio sets was purchased from three
different companies A, B and C. Eighteen of them
were manufactured by A, twenty of them by B and
the rest were manufactured by C.
The companies A and C produce excellent quality
radio sets with probability equal to 0.9 ; B produces
the same with the probability equal to 0.6.
What is the probability of the event that the excellent
quality radio set chosen at random is manufactured
by the company B ?
18. A doctor is called to see a sick child. The doctor
knows (prior to the visit) that 90% of the sick
children in that neighbourhood are sick with the flu,
denoted by F, while 10% are sick with the measles,
denoted by M.
A well known symptom of measles is a rash,
denoted by R. The probability of having a rash for
a child sick with the measles is 0.95. However,
occasionally children with the flu also develop a
rash, with conditional probability 0.08. Upon
examination the child, the doctor finds a rash. What
is the probability that the child has the measles ? If
the probability can be expressed in the form of p/q
where p, q  N and are in their lowest form, find
(p + q).
19. A covered basket of flowers has some lilies and
roses. In search of rose, Sweety and Shweta
alternately pick up a flower from the basket but
puts it back if it is not a rose. Sweety is 3 times
more likely to be the first one to pick a rose. If
sweety begin this 'rose hunt' and if there are 60
lilies in the basket, find the number of roses in the
basket.
20. A bomber wants to destroy a bridge. Two bombs
are sufficient to destroy it. If four bombs are
dropped, what is the probability that it is
destroyed, if the chance of a bomb hitting the
target is 0.4.
394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

21. Anand plays with Karpov 3 games of chess. The
probability that he wins a game is 0.5, looses with
probability 0.3 and ties with probability 0.2. If he
plays 3 games then find the probability that he wins
atleast two games.
22. A game is played with a special fair cubic die which
has one red side, two blue sides, and three green
sides. The result is the colour of the top side after
the die has been rolled. If the die is rolled repeatedly,
the probability that the second blue result occurs on
or before the tenth roll, can be expressed in the
p q
3 –2
form where p, q, r are positive integers,
3r
find the value of p2 + q2 + r2.
23. A uniform unbiased die is constructed in the shape
of a regular tetrahedron with faces numbered 2,2,
3 and 4 and the score is taken from the face on
which the die lands. If two such dice are thrown
together, find the probability of scoring.
(i) exactly 6 on each of 3 successive throws.
(ii) more than 4 on at least one of the three
successive throws.
24. An examination consists of 8 questions in each of
which the candidate must say which one of the 5
alternative is correct one. Assuming that the student
has not prepared earlier chooses for each of the
question any one of 5 answers with equal probability.
(i) prove that the probability that he gets more than
one correct answer is (5 8 – 3 x 4 8 ) / 5 8
(ii) find the probability that he gets correct answers to
six or more questions.
(iii) find the standard deviation of this distribution.
25. There are 2 groups of subjects one of which consists
of 5 science subjects & 3 english. subjects & other
consists of 3 science & 5 english. subjects. An
unbiased die is cast. If the number 3 or 5 turns up a
subject is selected at random from first group,
otherwise the subject is selected from 2nd group.
Find the probability that an english. subject is
selected.
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Probability 5.23
26. There are 4 urns. The first urn contains 1 white &
1 black ball, the second urn contains 2 white & 3
black balls, the third urn contains 3 white & 5 black
balls & the fourth urn contains 4 white & 7 black
balls. The selection of each urn is not equally likely.
i2 1
The probability of selecting ith urn is (i =
34
1,2,3,4). If we randomly select one of the urns &
draw a ball, then the probability of ball being white
is p/q where p and q  N are in their lowest form.
Find (p + q).
27. An aircraft gun can take a maximum of four shots
at an enemy's plane moving away from it. The
probability of hitting the plane at first, second, third
& fourth shots are 0.4, 0.3, 0.2 & 0.1 respectively.
What is the probability that the gun hits the plane.
28. In a batch of 10 articles, 4 articles are defective. 6
articles are taken from the batch for inspection. If
more than 2 articles in this batch are defective, the
whole batch is rejected Find the probability that the
batch will be rejected.
29. One hundred management students who read at
least one of the three business magazines are
surveyed to study the readership pattern. It is found
that 80 read Business India, 50 read Business world
and 30 read Business Today. Five students read all
the three magazines. A student was selected
randomly. Find the probability that he reads exactly
two magazines.
30. A player tosses an unbiased coin and is to score
two points for every head turned up and one point
for every tail turned up. If Pn denotes the probability
that his score is exactly n points, prove that
1
Pn – Pn –1  ( Pn –2 – Pn –1 ) ; n  3. Also compute
2
P1 and P2 and hence deduce the pr that he scores
exactly 4.
31. Each of the 'n' passengers sitting in a bus may get
down from it at the next stop with probability p.
Moreover, at the next stop either no passenger or
exactly one passenger boards the bus. The
probability of no passenger boarding the bus at the
next stop being Po. Find the probability that when
the bus continues on its way after the stop, there
will again be 'n' passengers in the bus.
5.24 Theory and Exercise Book

32. A train consists of n carriages, each of which may
have a defect with probability p. All the carriages
are inspected, independently of one another, by
two inspectors; the first detects defects (if any)
with probability p1 & the second with probability p2
. If none of the carriages is found to have a defect,
the train departs. Find the probability of the event;
"THE TRAIN DEPARTS WITH ATLEAST
ONE DEFECTIVE CARRIAGE".
33. A is a set containing n distinct elements. A
non-zero subset P of A is chosen at random. The
set A is reconstructed by replacing the elements of
P. A non-zero subset Q of A is again chosen at
random. Find the probability that P &Q have no
common elements.
34. A box contains three coins two of them are fair and
one two - headed. A coin is selected at random and
tossed. If the head appears the coin is tossed again,
if a tail appears, then another coin is selected from
the remaining coins and tossed.
(i) Find the probability that head appears twice.
(ii) If the same coin is tossed twice, find the probability
that it is two headed coin.
38. In a game of chance each player throws two
unbiased dice and scores the difference between
the larger and smaller number which arise. Two
players compete and one or the other wins if and
only if he scores atleast 4 more than his opponent.
Find the probability that neither player wins.
39. Integers a, b, c and d not necessarily distinct, are
chosen independently and at random from the set S
= {0, 1,2,3, ........2006, 2007}. If the probability that
p
|ad – bc| is even, is q where p and q are relatively
prime the find the value of (p + q)
40. (a) Two numbers x & y are chosen at random from
the set {l,2,3,4, .... 3n}. Find the probability that x2
– y2 is divisible by 3.
(b) If two whole numbers x and y are randomly
selected from the set of natural numbers, then find
the probability that x3 + y3 is divisible by 8.
C OM PR EH E NS IO N
If n positive integers taken at random and multiplied together,
then the chance that the last digit of the product would be
41. 1, 3, 5, 7, or 9 is
n n
 2 1
(A)   (B)  
5  2

2n -1 5n - 4n
(iii) Find the probability that tail appears twice. (C) (D)
5n 10 n

35. Suppose that there are 5 red points and 4 blue points 42. 1, 3, 7 or 9 is
m
on a circle. Let be the probability that a convex 2n -1 5n - 4n
n (A) (B)
5n 10 n
polygon whose vertices are among the 9 points has
n n
at least one blue vertex where m and n are relatively  2 1
(C)   (D)  
prime. Find (m + n). 5  2

36. A pair of fair dice is tossed. Find the probability that 43. 5 is
the maximum of the two numbers is greater than 4. 5n - 4n 2n -1
(A) (B)
10 n 5n
37. In a given race, the odds in favour of four horses A,
n
B, C & D are 1 : 3, 1 : 4, 1 : 5 and 1 : 6 respectively. 10n - 8n - 5n + 4n  2
(C) (D)  
Assuming that a dead heat is impossible, find the 10 n 5
chance that one of them wins the race.

394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

 Probability 5.25

MATRIX MATCH TYPE

44. Column - I Column -1I
(A) A, B and C in order toss (P) q – r =
7
a coin. The first one to throw
a head wins. If p, q and r are
their respective chances of
winning, assume that the
game may continue identifitely, then
3
(B) Three persons A, B and C throw (Q) p – r =
7
a dice in succession till one gets
a 'six' and wins the game.
If p, q and r are their respective (R) p:q = 6:5
chances of winning, then
5
(C) A, B and C play a game and (S) p – r =
7
chances of their winning it in an
2 1 1
attempt are , and
3 2 4
respectively. A has the first chance,
followed by B and then by C. (T) p:q = 2:1
This cycle is repeated till one
of them wins the game. If p, q, r
are their respective chances of
winning the game, then

www.motioniitjee.com
5.26 Theory and Exercise Book

1. Three houses are available in a locality. Three 6. A die is thrown. Let A be the event that the number
persons apply for the houses. Each applies for one obtained is greater than 3. Let B be the event that
house without consulting others. The probability that the number obtained is less than 5.Then P(A  B)
all the three apply for the same house is - is [AIEEE 2008]
(A) 0 (B) 1
[AIEEE-2005]
2 3
2 1 (C) (D)
(A) (B) 5 5
9 9

8 7 7. It is given that the events A and B are such that

(C) (D)
9 9 1 1 2
P(A)= , P(A|B)= and P(B|A)= . Then P(B)
4 2 3
2. Let A and B be two events such that is [AIEEE 2008]
1 2
1 1 1 (A) (B)
P ( AB ) = , P (A  B) = and P ( A ) = , 3 3
6 4 4
1 1
where A stands for complement of event A. Then (C) (D)
2 6
events A and B are - [AIEEE-2005]
(A) equally likely and mutually exclusive  1
8. In a binomial distribution B  n, p   , if the
(B) equally likely but not independent  4
(C) independent but not equally likely probability of at least one success is greater than or
(D) mutually exclusive and independent 9
equal to , then n is greater than :
10
3. At a telephone enquiry system, the number of phone [AIEEE 2009]
cells regarding relevant enquiry follow. Poisson dis-
1 9
tribution with an average of 5 phone cells during 10 (A) 4 3 (B)
log10 + log10 log10 - log103
4
min time intervals. The probability that there is atmost
one phone cell during a 10 min time period, is 4 1
(C) (D)
[AIEEE 2006] log10 4 - log103 log10 4 - log103
5 6
(A) (B)
6 55 9. One ticket is selected at random from 50 tickets
numbered 00, 01, 02, ......., 49. Then the probability
6 6 that the sum of the digits on the selected ticket is 8,
(C) (D)
e5 5e given that the product of these digits is zero, equals
: [AIEEE 2009]
4. A pair of fair dice is thrown independently three 1 5
times. The probability of getting a score of exactly (A) (B)
7 14
9 twice is- [AIEEE 2007]
1 1
(A) 1/729 (B) 8/9 (C) (D)
50 14
(C) 8/729 (D) 8/243
10. An urn contains nine balls of which three are red, four
5. Two aeroplanes I and II bomb a target in are blue and two are green. Three balls are drawn at
random without replacement from the urn. The
succession. The probabilities of I and II scoring
probability that the three balls have different colours
a hit correctly are 0.3 and 0.2, respectively. The
is- [AIEEE 2010]
second plane will bomb only if the first misses
1 2
the target. The probability that the target is hit (A) (B)
3 7
by the second plane is- [AIEEE 2007]
(A) 0.06 (B) 0.14 1 2
(C) (D)
(C) 0.2 (D) 0.7 21 23

394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

 Probability 5.27

11. Four numbers are chosen at random 15. Three numbers are chosen at random without
(without replacement) from the set replacement from {1, 2, 3, ....8}. The probability
[AIEEE 2010] that their minimum is 3, given that their maximum is
{1, 2, 3, ....., 20}. 6, is : [AIEEE 2012]
Statement – 1: The probability that the chosen 1 2
numbers when arranged in some order will form an (A) (B)
4 5
1
AP is . 3 1
85 (C) (D)
8 5
Statement – 2 : If the four chosen numbers form
an AP, then the set of all possible values of com-
16. A multiple choice examination has 5 questions. Each
mon diference is {±1, ±2, ±3, ±4, ±5}
(A) Statement (1) is true and statement (2) is true question has three alternative answers of which
and statement (2) is correct explanation for State- exactly one is correct. The probability that a student
ment (1) will get 4 or more correct answers just by guessing
(B) Statement (1) is true and statement (2) is true is
and statement (2) is NOT a correct explanation [JEE-MAIN 2013]
for Statement (1)
11 10
(C) Statement (1) is true but (2) is false (A) 5 (B)
(D) Statement (1) is false but (2) is true 3 35

17 13
12. Consider 5 independent Bernoulli’s trials each with (C) (D)
35 35
probability of success p. If the probability of at least one
31
failure is greater than or equal to , then p lies in 17. Let A and B be two events such that
32
the interval : 1 1
P ( A  B) = 6 , P (A  B) = and
[AIEEE 2011] 4

 1 3  3 11  1
(A)  ,  (B)  4 , 12  P( A ) = , where A stands for the complement
 2 4   4
of the event A. Then the events A and B are :
 1  11 
(C)  0, 2  (D)  12 , 1 (A) mutually exclusive and independent.
   
(B) equally likely but not independent
(C) independent but not equally likely
13. If C and D are two events such that C  D and
(D) independent and equally likely
P(D)  0, then the correct statement among the
following is : [AIEEE 2011] [JEE-MAIN 2014]
(A) P(C|D) = P(C) (B) P(C|D)  P(C)
P(D)
18. If 12 identical balls are to be placed in 3 identical
(C) P (C | D) < P(C) (D) P(C | D) = P(C) boxes, then the probability that one of the boxes
contains exactly 3 balls is :
[JEE-MAIN 2015]
14. Let A, B and C be pairwise independent events
with P(C) > 0 and P(A  B  C) = 0. Then, 1
12
1
11

P(AC  BC / C) is equal to (1) 220   (2) 22  

3   3  
[AIEEE 2011]
(A) P(AC) – P(B) (B) P(A) – P(BC) 11 10
(C) P(AC) + P(BC) (D) P(AC) – P(BC) 55  2  2
(3)   (4) 55  
3 3 3

www.motioniitjee.com
5.28 Theory and Exercise Book

1. (a) A fair dice is thrown until 1 comes, then probability 3. (a) One Indian and four American men and their wives
that 1 comes in even number of trials is are to be seated randomly around a circular table.
[JEE 2005 (Scr.)] Then the conditional probability that the Indian man
(A) 5/11 (B) 5/6 is seated adjacent to his wife given that each
(C) 6/11 (D) 1/6 American man is seated adjacent to his wife is
[JEE 2007]
(b) A person goes to office either by car, scooter, bus
(A) 1/2 (B) 1/3
1 3 2 1
or train, probability of which being , , and
7 7 7 7 (C) 2/5 (D) 1/5
respectively. Probability that he reaches office late,
if he takes car, scooter, bus or train is (b) Let Ec denote the complement of an event E. Let E,
2 1 4 1 F, G be pairwise independent events with P(G) > 0 and P
, , and respectively. Given that he reached
9 9 9 9 (E  F  G) = 0. Then P((Ec  Fc) /G) equals
office in time, then what is the probability that he (A) P(Ec) + P(Fc) (B) P(Ec) – P(Fc)
travelled by a car. [JEE 2005 (Mains) 2] (C) P(Ec) – P(F) (D) P(E) – P(Fc)

2. There are n urns each containing n + 1 balls (c) Let H1, H2 ,........., Hn be mutually exclusive and
such that the ith urn contains i white balls and exhaustive events with P(H i) > 0, i = 1, 2........,n.
(n + 1 – i) red balls. Let ui be the event of selecting Let E be any other event with 0 < P (E) < 1.
ith urn, i = 1, 2, 3..........n and W denotes the event of Statement-1 :
getting a white ball.
P(Hi | E) > P(E | Hi). P(Hi) for i = 1, 2......, n
[JEE 2006, 5+5+5]
because
(a) If P(ui)  i, where i = 1, 2, 3, ........, n then nlim

P(W)
n

is equal to Statement-2 :  P(H i )  1

i 1
(A) 1 (B) 2/3
(C) 3/4 (D) 1/4 (A) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true ;
Statement-2 is a correct explanation for Statement-
(b) If P(ui) = c where c is a constant then P(un / W) is 1.
equal to (B) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true ;
2 1 Statement-2 is NOT a correct explanation for
(A) (B)
n +1 n +1 Statement-1.
n 1
(C) (D) (C) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is false.
n +1 2
(D) Statement-1 is false, Statement-2 is true.

(c) If n is even and E denotes the event of choosing 4. (a) An experiment has 10 equally likely outcomes. Let A
 1 and B be two non-empty events of the experiment.
even numbered urn  P(ui ) =  , then the value of If A consists of 4 outcomes, the number of outcomes
 n
P(W / E), is that B must have so that A and B are independent,
n +2 n+2 is [JEE 2008]
(A) (B) 2(n +1)
2n +1 (A) 2, 4 or 8 (B) 3, 6 or 9
n 1 (C) 4 or 8 (D) 5 or 10
(C) (D)
n +1 n +1

394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

 Probability 5.29

(b) Consider the system of equations ax + by = 0, Paragraph for Question Nos. 7 to 8

cx + dy = 0, where a, b, c, d  {0, 1} Let U1 and U2 be two urns such that U1 contains 3
Statement-1 : The probability that the system of white and 2 red balls, and U2 contains only 1 white
ball. A fair coin is tossed. If head appears then 1 ball is
equations has a unique solution is 3/8.
drawn at random from U1 and put into U2. However,
and if tail appears then 2 balls are drawn at random from
Statement-2 : The probability that the system of U1 and put into U2. Now 1 ball is drawn at random
equations has a solution is 1. from U2.
(A) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true ; 7. The probability of the drawn ball from U2 being
white is [JEE 2011]
Statement-2 is a correct explanation for Statement-
(A) 13/30 (B) 23/30
1. (C) 19/30 (D) 11/30
(B) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is true ;
Statement-2 is NOT a correct explanation for 8. Given that the drawn ball from U2 is white, the prob-
Statement-1. ability that head appeared on the coin is
(A) 17/23 (B) 11/23
(C) Statement-1 is true, Statement-2 is false.
(C) 15/23 (D) 12/23
(D) Statement-1 is false, Statement-2 is true.
9. Let E and F be two independent events. The
COMPREHENSION TYPE 11
probability that exactly one of them occurs is
5. A fair die is tossed repeatedly until a six is obtained. 25
2
Let X denA fair die is tossed repeatedly until a six and the probability of none of them occurring is .
25
is obtained. Let X denote the number of tosses If P(T) denotes the probability of occurrence of
required. [JEE 2009] the event T, then [JEE 2011]
(a) The probability that X = 3 equals 4 3
(A) 25/216 (B) 25/36 (A) P(E) = , P(F) =
5 5
(C) 5/36 (D) 125/216 1 2
(B) P(E) = , P(F) =
5 5
(b) The probability that X > 3 equals 2 1
(A) 125/216 (B) 25/36 (C) P(E) = , P(F) =
5 5
(C) 5/36 (D) 25/216 3 4
(D) P(E) = , P(F) =
5 5
(c) The conditional probability X > 6 given X > 3 equals
(A) 125/216 (B) 25/216 10. A ship is fitted with three engines E1, E2 and E3.
(C) 5/36 (D) 25/35 The engines function independently of each other
1 1 1
with respective probabilities , and . For the
2 4 4
6. A signal which can be green or red with probability
ship to be operational at least two of its engines
4 1 must function. Let X denote the event that the ship
and respectively, is received by station A and is operational and let X 1 , X 2 and X 3 denote
5 5
respectively the events that the engines E1 , E2 and
then transmitted to station B. The probability of each
E3 are functioning. Which of the following is (are)
3 true ? [JEE 2012]
station receiving the signal correctly is , if the
4 c 3
(A) P  X1 | X  =
signal received at station B is green, then the probability 16
that the original signal was green is [JEE 2010] (B) P [Exactly two engines of the ship are
(A) 3/4 (B) 6/7 7
functioning|X] =
(C) 20/23 (D) 9/20 8
5 7
(C) P X | X 2  = (D) P  X | X1  =
16 16

www.motioniitjee.com
5.30 Theory and Exercise Book

11. Four fair dice D1, D2, D3 and D4, each having six Paragraph for Question 15 and 16
faces numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, are rolled A box B1 contains 1 white ball, 3 red balls and 2
simultaneously. The probability that D4 shows a black ballls, Another box B2 contains 2 whilte balls,
number appearing on one of D1, D2 and D3 is
3 red balls and 4 black balls. A third box B3 contains
[JEE 2012]
3 while balls, 4 red balls and 5 black balls.
91 108 15. If 1 ball is drawn fron each of the boxes B1, B2 are
(A) (B)
21 6 21 6 B3, the probability that all 3 drawn balls are of the
same colour is [JEE 2013]
125 12 7
(C) (D) 82 90
21 6 21 6 (A) (B)
6 48 6 48
1 558 566
12. Let X and Y be two events such that P(X|Y)= . (C) (D)
2 6 48 6 48

1 1
P(Y|X) = and P(X  Y) = . Which of the 16. If 2 balls are drawn (without replacement) from a
3 6
randomly selected box and one of the balls is white
following is (are) correct ? [JEE 2012] and the other ball is red, the probability that these 2
balls are drawn from box B2 is [JEE 2013]
2
(A) P(X  Y) =
3 116 126
(A) (B)
181 181
(B) X and Y are independent
(C) X and Y are not independent 65 55
(C) (D)
181 181
1
(D) P(XC  Y) =
3
17. Three boys and two girls stand in a queue. The
probability, that the number of boys ahead of every
13. Four persons independently solve a certain problem girl is at least one more than the number of girls
ahead of her, is [JEE 2014]
1 3 1 1
correctly with probabilities , , , . Then the 1
2 4 4 8 1
(A) (B)
2 3
probability that the problem is solved correctly by
at least one of them is [JEE 2013] 2 3
(C) (D)
3 4
235 21
(A) (B)
256 256
Paragraph for Question 18 and 19
3 253
Box 1 contains three cards bearing numbers
(C) (D) 1, 2, 3; box 2 contains five cards bearing num-
256 256
ber 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; and box 3 contains seven cards
bearing numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. A card is
14. Of the three independent events E1, E2 and E3 the drawn from each of the boxes. Let xi be the
probability that only E1 occurs is , only E2 occurs number on the card drawn from the ith box,
is  and only E3 occurs is . Let the probability p i = 1, 2, 3.
that none of events E1, E2 or E3 occurs satisfy the 18. The probability that x1 + x2 + x3 are in an arithmetic
equations ( – 2) p = and (–3)p = 2. All the progression, is [JEE 2014]
given probabilities are assumed to lie in the interval 29 53
(A) (B)
(0, 1). [JEE 2013] 105 105

P r obability of occurrence of E1 57 1
Then = (C) (D)
Pr obability of occurrence of E 3 105 2

394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota

 Probability 5.31

19. The probability that x1, x2, x3 are in an arithmetic 22. A ball is drawn at random from box I and transferred
progression, is [JEE 2014]
to box II. If the probability of drawing a red ball
9 10
(A) (B) 1
105 105
from box I, after this transfer, is , then the correct
3
11 7
(C) (D) option(s) with the possible values of n1 and n2 is(are)
105 105
(A) n1 = 4 and n2 = 6 [JEE 2016]
20. The minimum number of times a fair coin needs to
(B) n1 = 2 and n2 = 3
be tossed, so that the probability of getting at least
(C) n1 = 10 and n2 = 20
two heads is at least 0.96 is. [JEE 2015]
(D) n1 = 3 and n2 = 6
1
23. Let X and Y be two events such that P(X) = ,
PARAGRAPH Question No. 21 to 22 3
1 2
Let n1 and n2 be the number of red and black balls, P(X|Y) = and P(Y|X) = . Then [JEE 2017]
2 5
respectively, in box I. Let n3 and n4 be the number of
4 1
red and black balls, respectively, in box II. (A) P(Y) = (B) P(X'|Y) =
15 2
[JEE 2015]
2 1
(C) P  X  Y  = (D) P  X  Y  =
21. One of the two boxes, box I and box II, was selected 5 5

at random and a ball was drawn randomly out of

this box. The ball was found to be red. If the
probability that this red ball was drawn from box II 24. Three randomly chosen nonnegative integers x,y
1 and z are found to satisfy the equation x + y +z =
is , then the correct option(s) with the possible 10. Then the probability that z is even, is [JEE 2017]
3
values of n1, n2, n3 and n4 is(are) [JEE 2016] 5 6
(A) (B)
11 11
(A) n1 = 3, n2 = 3, n3 = 5, n4 = 15
1 36
(C) (D)
(B) n1 = 3, n2 = 6, n3 = 10, n4 = 50 2 55

(C) n1 = 8, n2 = 6, n3 = 5, n4 = 20

(D) n1 = 6, n2 = 12, n3 = 5, n4 = 20

www.motioniitjee.com
5.32 Theory and Exercise Book

EXERCISE - I_ JEE Main

1. A 2. D 3. A 4. A 5. D 6. C 7. D
8. C 9. A 10. B 11. D 12. B 13. D 14. C
15. B 16 A 17. B 18. B 19. A 20. D 21. A
22. C 23. C 24. B 25. C 26. D 27. A 28. A

EXERCISE - II_ JEE Advance

Single correct Option - type Questions
1. D 2. B 3. C 4. D 5. B 6. C 7. B
8. A 9. C 10. C 11. B
Multiple correct Option - type Questions
1. C,D 2. A,C,D 3. A,B,C 4. A,C
5. A,B 6. A,B,C,D 7. C, D
EXERCISE - III_ Subjective - type Questions
97 29 1 1 101 3 9 13 1
1. 2. 3. , 4. 5. (i) (ii) 6. P (F|M) = ; P(F | M) 
(25 )4 30 9 3 1326 56 28 16 4
24
1 3 2 C2 23
7. (a) 0.61 ; (b) 0.4758 8. (i) , (ii) , (iii) 9. 64
or 10. (i) 0.82, (ii) 0.76
10 10 3 C2 168

1 5 4
11. P(H | S)  12. Independent in (a) and not independent in (b) 14. 15. 179 16.
2 8 9

4 328 1
17. 18. 262 19. 120 20. 21. 22. 283
13 625 2
125 63 13 19 1
23. (i) ; (ii) 25. 26. 2065 27. 0.6976 28. 29.
163 64 24 42 2
(3n – 2n 1  1)
31. (1  p)n –1. [p 0 (1 – p)  np(1 – p0 )] 32. 1 – [1 – p(1 – p1)(1 – p2)]n 33.
( 4 n – 2n1  1)
1 1 1 5 319 74 (5n – 3) 5
34. , , 35. 458 36. 37. 38. 39. 13 40.(a) ; (b)
2 2 12 9 420 81 (9n – 3) 16
Comprehension - based Questions
n n
1 2 5n  4n
41.   42. 5 43.
2   10n
Matrix Match - type Questions
4 1 1
44. A ;B ;C
7 7 7
EXERCISE - IV_ Previous Year’s Question
JEE Main
1. B 2. C 3. C 4. D 5. B 6. B 7. A
8. D 9. D 10. B 11. C 12. C 13. B 14. A
15. D 16. A 17. C 18 C
JEE Advanced
1 (a) A ; (b) 1/7 2. (a) B; (b) C; (c) B 4. (a) D ; (b) B
5. (a) A; (b) B; (c) D 6. C 7. B 8. D 9. A 10. B,D
11. A 12. A, B 13. A 14. 6 15. A 16. D 17. A
18. B 19. C 20. 8 21. A,B 22. C,D 23. AB 24. B

394-Rajeev Gandhi Nagar, Kota