Immaculate Conception Academy​ ​⚈​10 Grant Street, Greenhills, San Juan City ​ ⚈​HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

SHS Grade 12 Handout #2 

Statistics and Probability Probability 
 
Anchor Task.​ Suppose you toss a coin 5 times. What outcomes will you get? Then, toss 2 coins 5 times. What 
outcomes do you get? 
Write down your observations on the space provided below. 

 
List down all the possible outcomes in tossing 2 coins. 

S={ } 
The ​sample space​, usually denoted by ​S,​ is the set containing ​all​ ​possible outcomes​ of a probability 
experiment while the ​event​ is a set of ​favorable outcomes​. An event is a subset of the sample space. 

The number of elements in the sample space ​S ​is denoted by ​n(S). T

​ herefore, if ​S ​contains all possible 
outcomes in tossing two coins, ​n(S) = 4​. 
State one possible outcome in tossing two coins​. 

E={ } 
If E = {HH} then n(E) = 1 . 
Think  about  this:  How  is the number of occurrences of an event determined? How does knowledge of finding 
the likelihood of an event help you in your daily life? 

Probability  is  the  measure  of  the  likelihood  of  an  event happening. The sample space is the collection of all 
possible outcomes. Therefore, for a probability experiment, the sample space is the universal set. 
We can obtain the probability of an event ​E​ occurring, i.e. ​P(E)​. 
Probability of an Event, ​P(E) 
n(E)
P (E) = n(S)  
no. of possible outcomes of event E
P (E) = no. of possible outcomes in the sample space S  

Therefore, P (E) = ________. 

 
Example 1 
A die is rolled. What is the probability of getting a number less than 5? 
Solution: 
Let ​S ​be the sample space. 
Let ​E ​be the event that the number is less than 5. 
Then, 

S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}  
E = {5}  
n(S) = 6  
n(E) = 1  
n(E)
Therefore, ​P{getting a number less than 5}= n(S) = 51 .   
 

Practice Exercise 1 
1) Determine the probability of obtaining the following in an experiment that consists of tossing two 
coins. 
a) 1 heads 
 
 
b) 0 heads 
 
2) A pair of dice is rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers is 7? 
Solution: 
 
 
 
3) A die is rolled. 
a) What is the probability of getting a 7? 
 
b) What is the probability of getting a number less than 7? 
 
 
 
The event of getting a 7 in rolling a die is an ​impossible event​. On the other hand, the event of getting a 
number less than 7 in rolling a die is a ​sure event​. 

Property 1.​ If ​P(E) i​ s the probability of an event happening, then 0 ≤ P (E) ≤ 1 . 

Property 2.​ If ​P(E)​ is the probability of an event happening, then P (E) + P (not E) = 1 . 

 
Example 2 
Two cards are drawn simultaneously from a standard deck of playing cards. What is the probability that both 
cards are not spades? 
Guide Questions: 

1) In how many ways can we draw 2 spades out of the 52 cards? 

2) How many spades are there in a deck? 
3) In how many ways can we draw 2 spades out of 13 spades? 
4) What is the probability of getting 2 spades out of 52 cards? 
5) What is the probability that both cards are not spades? 
Example 3 
A single card is drawn from a standard deck of playing cards. What is the probability that the card is either a 
queen or a spade? 
 

Guide Questions: 
1) In how many ways can we draw a queen card out of the 52 cards? 
2) In how many ways can we draw a queen out of 4 queens? 
3) What is the probability of getting a queen out of 52 cards? 
4) In how many ways can we get a spade out of 13 spades? 
5) What is the probability of getting a spade out of 52 cards? 
6) Is it possible that a queen is also a spade? How will that affect the result/total number of 
probabilities? 
7) What is the probability that the card is a queen or a spade? 
 

Property 3.​ If ​P(E)​ is the probability of event ​E ​happening and ​P(F)​ is the probability of event ​F​ happening, 
then 
P (E ⋃ F ) = P (E) + P (F ) − P (E ⋂ F )  

   

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Practice Exercise 2 
 
A single card is drawn from a standard deck of playing cards. What is the probability that the card is 
either an ace or a heart? 
 
 
 

More Exercises! 
1) A two-digit number is formed by using the digits 2, 3, and 5. Repetition of digits is allowed. 
a) List the sample space. 
b) Find the probability that the two-digit number formed 
i) is prime, 
ii) contains the digit ‘2’, 
iii) is divisible by 4, 
iv) is divisible by 13, 

v) is not divisible by 13. 

2) A letter is chosen at random from the word ‘CLEVER’. Find the probability that the letter chosen is 
a) an ‘E’, 
b) a ‘C’ or an ‘R’, 
c) a ‘K’, 
d) a consonant. 
3) A fair tetrahedral die (4-sided die) and a fair 6-sided die are rolled simultaneously. the numbers on 
the tetrahedral die are 1, 2, 5, and 6, while the numbers on the 6-sided die are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. 
a) List all the possible outcomes of the experiment. 
b) Find the probability that 
i) both dice show the same number, 
ii) the number shown on the tetrahedral die is greater than the number shown on the 6-sided 
die, 
iv) the number shown on both dice are prime numbers. 
4) A bag contains five cards and the cards are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. A card is drawn at random 
from the bag and its number is noted. The card is then replaced and a second card is drawn at 
random from the bag. Find the probability that 
a) the number shown on the second card is greater than the number shown on the first card, 
b) the sum of the two numbers is greater than 7, 
c) the product of the two numbers shown on the cards is greater than 10. 
 
Anchor Task 
A single card is drawn from a standard deck of playing cards.  
a) What is the probability that the card is either a queen or a king? 
b) What is the probability that the card is a king or queen?  
c) How did you come up with that answer? 
d) Is there a card that is both a king and a queen? 
 
Definition: ​Mutually Exclusive Events​ ​- events that cannot happen at the same time. 
 
Probability for Mutually Exclusive Events 
For mutually exclusive events E or F,  

 
 

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 Practice Exercise 3 
 
A single card is drawn from a deck of cards. What is the probability that the card is either a 
spade or a heart? 
 
Solution: 

 
Example 4​ ​ Two cards are drawn from a deck of cards. What is the probability that the cards are both aces? 
 
Let S be the sample space that the first card is an ace. Then n (S) = ________ . 
Let T be the sample space that the second card is an ace. Then n (T ) = ________ . 
Let E be the event that the first card is an ace. Then n (E) = _________. 
Let F |E be the event that the second card is an ace. Then n (E) = __________. 
 
The probability that the first card is an ace is  
n(E)
P (E) = n(S)
= ___________
The probability that the second card is an ace is  
 
n(F |E)
P (F |E) = n(T ) = ___________
The probability that both cards are ace is 
P (E and F ) = P (E) ·P (F |E)
P (E and F ) =    
   
Property 4: Multiplication Rule.​ ​If P(E) is the probability of event E happening and P(F) is the probability of 
event F happening, then 

 
 
Definition: ​Conditional Probability P(F|E) - ​the probability that event F happens given that event E 
happened. 

 
 
Practice Exercise 4 
 
Two  cards  are  drawn  from  a  deck  of cards. What is the probability that the 2​nd card is an ace 
given that the 1​st​ card is a heart? 
 
Solution:  

 
Definition: ​Independent Events - ​events that are not affected by other events 

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 Practice Exercise 5 
 
Two  cards  are  drawn  from  a  deck  of  cards  with  replacement.  What  is  the  probability that an 
ace and a king is drawn? 
 
Solution:  

 
 
Anchor Task 
The table gives data on the type of car, grouped by petrol consumption, owned by 100 people. 
 
Low Medium High Total

Male 12 33 7
Female 23 21 4
100
One person is selected at random. 
L is the event “the person owns a low rated car” 
F is the event “a female is chosen” 
Find 

P (L) =  

P (F ∩L) =

P (F |L)
 

Baye’s Theorem 

 
Example 5 

Suppose  a  quality  control  officer  is  inspecting  3  bins  containing 30 products each. The bins labeled A, B and 

C  contain  10,  5 and 15 defective products, respectively. One product was randomly chosen and was found to 
be defective. Which box did the product most likely come from? 

Solution 
Let  
A-​ product came from A 
B​-product came from B 
C-​ product came from C 
D​-the product is defective 
 
P (A|D) =
P (B|D) =
P (C|D) =

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 Practice Exercise 6 
 
Container  A  contains  12  chocolates  and  8  candies,  container  B  contains  5  chocolates  and  15 
candies. I was given 1 candy. What is the probability that it came from container A? 
 
Solution: 

 
References:  

● Ronald  E.  Walpole,  R.  H.  (2017).  ​Probability  and  Statistics  for  Engineers  and  Scientists  Update  Ninth  Edition​. 
Singapore: Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd. 
● Yeo, J., Seng, T. K., Yee, L. C., & Chow, I. (2016). ​New Syllabus Mathematics​ (7th ed). Singapore: Shinglee 
Publishers Pte Ltd. 

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