EXPLORING PROBABILITY

“ Will it rain “ Will I pass

today?” the test?”

HENRY M. DUYAN
Mathematics Teacher
 In everyday life, we often make decisions.
The decision that we make based on the
chance that an outcome or event will happen.
In this chapter, we will discuss the
mathematics of chance. This area of
mathematics is called PROBABILITY.
ORGANIZING THE
OUTCOME OF AN
EVENT.
In everyday life, we always perform or
do an activity. For example, choosing
the dress that we would like to wear,
selecting the food that we would like to
eat, etc.
 An Experiment is an activity or process
that leads to results.

The results of an experiment are called

outcomes.
The set of all possible outcomes is called
a sample space.
 Study the following examples.

Experiment: Tossing a coin

Possible outcomes: Head (H) or Tail (T)

Sample Space: S  H , T 
 Experiment: Rolling a die

Possible outcomes: The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

or 6
Sample Space: S  1,2,3,4,5,6
A subset of a sample space is
called an Event.
 Experiment: Rolling a die
Possible outcomes: The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
or 6
Event: Getting an even number in
a roll of a die E1  2,4,6
Event: Getting an odd number in
a roll of a die E2  1,3,5
 List all possible outcome when two coins
are tossed.
We can use a tree diagram to
list the possible outcomes of
this experiment

If the first coin lands a head,

H
then the second coin can land H
either as head or tail.
T
 If the first coin lands as tail, H
then the second coin can land
either as head or tail. T
T
Each branch of the tree
diagrams represent one
possible outcome. Hence, the
set of all possible outcome is…

S  HH , HT , TH , TT 
 A coin is tossed and a die is rolled. List all sample
space if this experiment

We can determine the possible outcomes by making a

table

die
1 2 3 4 5 6
coin H H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6
T T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
 The coin can land in two ways, Head (H) or Tail (T).
The die can land in six ways.

The table shows that there are 12 possible outcomes.

The sample space is……

die
1 2 3 4 5 6
coin H H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6
T T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
S  H 1, H 2, H 3, H 4, H 5, H 6, T 1, T 2, T 3, T 4, T 5, T 6
 Perform the following by systematic
listing.

T-shirts come in three sizes- small, medium

and large. There are four colors to choose
from- red, black, yellow and green. List all
possible ways a buyer can choose a t-shirt.
A meal consist of rice and viand. Rice has two
varieties- java rice and plain rice. Viand has
three varieties- menudo, mechado, and
afritada. In how many ways can one choose a
meal? List all the possible ways.
A room has 2 entrance doors and 3 exit doors.
List all possible ways one can enter and leave
the room without passing a door twice.
A department store offers a bag in three sizes-
small, medium and large. The bags come in
few colors- blue, black, red and white. List all
possible outcomes a buyer can choose a bag.