topic badge

17.01 The language of probability

Lesson

The language of probability

Probability is the study of chance and prediction. To make sure our predictions are valid, we need to use the right mathematical language.

In general we will be thinking about a single test, known as a trial (also known as an experiment), that has more than one possible result, known as an outcome. A good example is flipping a coin:

A table showing the heads and tails sides of a coin.

We say that flipping the coin is a trial, and there are two equally likely outcomes: heads and tails. The list of all possible outcomes of a trial is called the sample space.

Another example of a trial is rolling a die:

A table showing a six sided die and the the unfolded net of a die.

There are 6 equally likely outcomes in the sample space: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. We can group these outcomes into events, such as "rolling an even number" or "rolling more than 3". Each outcome on its own is always an event, and sometimes events don't correspond to any outcomes.

We can think about different kinds of events that we care about, and sort them into categories of likelihood. Here are some examples when rolling a die:

LikehoodEvent
\text{Impossible}\text{Rolling a}\ 9
\text{Unlikely}\text{Rolling a}\ 1
\text{Even chance}\text{Rolling }\ 4\ \text{or more}
\text{Likely}\text{Rolling }\ 2\ \text{or more}
\text{Certain}\text{Rolling between}\ 1\ \text{and} \ 6

What makes an event likely or unlikely depends on what happens when you repeat the trial many times. If the event happens more than half the time, we say it is likely, and if it happens less than half the time, we say it is unlikely. If it happens exactly half the time we say it has an even chance.

If every outcome corresponds to the event, we say it is certain. If no outcomes correspond to the event, we say it is impossible.

This is a full set of 52 playing cards:

A 52 deck of playing cards. Ask your teacher for more information.

Notice that there are many different events, depending on what result we are interested in:

  • Two colors: Red and Black

  • Four suits: Spades, Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds

  • Thirteen card values:

    • Three "face cards": "K" for King, "Q" for Queen, "J" for Jack

    • The numbers 2 through 10

    • "A" for "Ace", which is usually given the value of 1.

The deck of cards is shuffled, and the trial is going to be drawing a single card from the deck.

Here are some events sorted into each of the five likelihood categories:

Impossible

  • Drawing a 17 of Hearts

  • Drawing a blue card

  • Drawing a 2 of Cups

Unlikely

  • Drawing an Ace

  • Drawing a "face card"

  • Drawing a Spade

Even chance

  • Drawing a black card

  • Drawing a red card

Likely

  • Drawing a card numbered 2 through 10

  • Drawing a card that is not a 2

  • Drawing a card of any suit that is not Hearts

Certain

  • Drawing a card that is a Spade, Heart, Club, or Diamond

  • Drawing a card that is either red or black

Drawing a "face card" is unlikely because there are fewer of them than the other cards. Drawing a black card has an even chance because there are just as many black cards as red cards. There are many more possible events we could describe, and fitting them into the right likelihood category can take some practice. We will investigate ways we can be precise in the next lesson.

Sometimes the language we use to describe chance can be less precise than we need it to be.

When we say "from 2 to 5" we mean including 2 and 5.

When we say "between\,2 and 5 inclusive" we also mean including 2 and 5.

But when we say "between 2 and 5 exclusive" we mean numbers strictly greater than 2 and strictly less than 5 - that is, only the numbers 3 and 4.

We will not say "between 2 and 5" on its own because it isn't clear whether we include the ends or not.

Examples

Example 1

What is the chance of flipping heads with a coin?

A table showing the heads and tails sides of a coin.
A
Impossible
B
Likely
C
Unlikely
D
Even chance
E
Certain
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Find out the number of each outcome.

Apply the idea

When flipping a coin, half the time it will land on heads and half the time it will land on tails.

Each side is equally likely to land face-up. The chance is even.

The correct option is D.

Example 2

A six-sided die is rolled in a trial. What are the chances that the outcome is 2 or more?

A six-sided die.
A
Impossible
B
Unlikely
C
Even chance
D
Likely
E
Certain
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Count the number of outcome that is 2 or more.

Apply the idea

There are 4 number of outcome that is 2 or more, which is most of the faces on the die. The chances of that outcome is likely.

The correct option is D.

Example 3

Look at this spinner:

A spinner with 8 sectors. 2 sectors have pigs on them, 2 have stars on them, 3 have balls on them and 1 has an apple.
a

What is the most likely symbol to spin?

A
Ball
B
Star
C
Apple
D
Pig
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Count the most appeared symbol in the spinner.

Apply the idea

The spinner has 8 sectors. The ball symbol appears 3 times. The most likely symbol to spin is ball.

The correct option is A.

b

What is the likelihood of spinning a ball?

A
Impossible
B
Unlikely
C
Even chance
D
Likely
E
Certain
Worked Solution
Create a strategy

Count the number of outcome of ball symbol.

Apply the idea

The number of ball symbol is on 3 out of 8 sectors. It is less than the half of the sectors.

So, the likelihood of spinning a ball is unlikely. The correct option is B.

Idea summary

The language of probability:

Trial - a single experiment with different possible results.

Outcome - the possible results of a trial.

Event - a grouping of outcomes. Each possible outcome is always an event on its own.

Likelihood - an event can be:

  • impossible (can never happen)

  • unlikely (happens less than half the time)

  • even chance (happens half the time)

  • likely (happens more than half the time)

  • certain (always happens)

Sample space - a list of all the possible outcomes of a trial.

Outcomes

MA4-21SP

represents probabilities of simple and compound events

What is Mathspace

About Mathspace