Statistics and

Probability

5.1 Statistics
 What is Statistics

is the science and practice of developing human knowledge through the use of empirical
data expressed in quantitative form.
Wikipedia Encyclopedia

can also be used to refer to numerical facts such as averages, medians,

percentages, etc.

can also be defined as the art and science of collecting, organizing, analyzing,
presenting, and interpreting data.

 Who Must Learn Statistics: Oral Discussion

 Why Do We Learn Statistics: Oral Discussion4

A population is the set of all elements of interest in a particular study.

A sample is a subset of the population

Census is the process of conduction a survey to collect data for the entire population.

Sample survey is the process of conducting a survey to collect data for a sample.
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 Types of Data
Qualitative Data Data that contains variables that cannot
be measured or expressed in numbers.

Quantitative Data Data that contains variables which can be

measured or expressed in numbers.

Example
Determine whether each of the following represent qualitative or quantitative data
Sex, age, height, leadership style, nationality, efficiency, number of patients visited by physicians.

 Variables & Types of Variables

Elements (of a population or sample) are the entities on which data are collected.

A variable is a characteristic of interest for the elements

Example

Example: Decide whether each variable is discrete or continuous and explain.

1. The number of eggs a hen lays per month.

2. The height of a student.

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 More on Types of Data

(i) Ungrouped Data With Frequency

Ages 7 8 10 11 13 14

Number of Students
(Frequency) 5 6 11 14 9 5

(ii) Grouped Data

Example
The following raw data shows the masses in of 50 animals.

36 36 36 25 28 29 15 17 17 13 21 21 21 25 25 27 27

31 31 31 32 36 36 22 24 24 31 31 33 34 37 37 39 11

16 25 26 28 28 31 31 36 37 32 18 23 23 26 27 29

The above data can be summarized by the following grouped frequency distribution.

We use correction factor to change the class intervals to class boundaries.

−
=

Where = and
= ( − )

Then the class boundary column can be obtained by subtracting the correcting factor from each lower limit and
adding the correcting factor to each upper limit.

 Cumulative Frequency Distribution

Example
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Class
Class Cumulative
Intervals of Frequency
Masses Boundaries Frequency

10 – 14 2
15 – 19 5
20 – 24 8
25 – 29 14
30 – 34 11
35 - 39 10

 Class Mark( or Class Midpoint)

+ +
= =

Where, & are lower limit Where, & are lower boundary and
and upper limit of the class upper boundary of the class boundary
is class mark of the class is class mark of the class

 Numerical Measures
 Measures of Location: Mean, Median, Mode, Quartiles, Deciles, Percentiles
 Miasures of Variation: Range, Variance, Standard Deviation

Measures of Location
Mean: We use symbols such as , etc to represent mean
Mean For Ungrouped Data
 Without Frequency Distribution

+ + + …+ ∑
= =

Where … are data values and is population (or sample) size

 With Frequency Distribution

+ + + …+ ∑
= =
+ + + …+ ∑

Where … are data values and … are their respective frequencies

is population (or sample) size

Example

1. Find the mean of the measurements: 10, 14,17, 23, 23, 23, 32, 34
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2. The frequency distribution of the ages of students in a certain college is shown by the following table. Find
the mean age of the students.

Ages(in years)
19 20 22 24 26
Number of Students
(frequency ) 2 5 7 4 2

Mean For Grouped Data

Example

Class Interval Frequency

1–5 2
6 – 10 3
11 – 15 4
16 – 20 3
21 - 25 2

Mode For Ungrouped Data

Mode is the most frequent value

Example

1. Ages(in years) 2.
19 20 22 24 26 Values( ) 22 65 100 123 149 200 211
Number of
Students 2 5 7 4 2 Frequency( ) 1 21 34 55 55 10 9
(frequency )

Mode For Grouped Data

∆
= +
∆ +∆

Where, = Mode
=Lower Boundary of the modal class
∆ =the difference between the frequencies of
the modal class and the preceding class
∆ = the difference between the frequencies of
the modal class and the subsequent class.
=class width

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Example: Find Mode

1.

Class Interval Frequency

The Test Scores (out of 25) of 50
Of Test Scores (Number of Students)
students were collected and
1−5 4 summarized by the grouped
6−10 14
distribution shown in the adjoining
11−15 18
16−20 12 Table. Find the modal Score.
21−25 2
TOTAL 50

2)
( )

− .
−

TOTAL

Median : we can use the symbol to represent median.

 Median For Ungrouped Data

(i) First the data values must be written either in only increasing order or in only
decreasing order.
(ii) Then determine = population(or sample ) size. That is, total number of data
Values
(iii)Finally the median is computed
 Case I: If = ∑ is an odd number, then
= value.
 Case II: If =∑ is an odd number, then
+ +
=

Or simply = value

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Example

1) Find the median of

(A) , , , , , , , ,
(B) 100, 86, 82, 82, 81, 73, 70, 68, 62, 60, 53, 50, 50, 43, 41, 40

2)
Number of
Height
animals The table shows the frequency
(in )
(frequency) distribution of the heights of
33 8 different animals. Find the
37 8
median height.

44 12
54 14
63 18
68 24
76 18
80 12
85 6

 Median For Grouped Data

(i) Median class is the class where the item is found.

−
= +

Where, = Lower Boundary of the median class

= ∑
= Cumulative frequency of the class before the median class
= frequency of the median class
= class width

 : ,

 Range For Ungrouped Data

= −

Where,
=
=
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Example

Frequency
Class Intervals of
(Number of
Masses(kg.)
The table shows grouped frequency persons)
Distribution of masses ( in Kg ) of 40−45 7
46−51 9
50 persons. Compute the median mass.
52−57 10
58−63 12
64−69 6
70−75 6

Quartiles: divides the data in to four groups of equal number of items.

First Quartile (Lower Quartile)

Second Quartile (Middle Quartile)
Third Quartile(Upper Quartile)

 : = Quartile; where = , ,

 Quartiles For Ungrouped Data

(i) First arrange the values(items) in only increasing (or only decreasing) order.
(ii) Find = ( ) =∑
(iii) Use the following to compute =

( )
(i) If , then = item

(ii) If , then = item

Example

1. Given the measurements :33, 39, 56, 58, 59, 63, 67, 71, 77, 79, 79, 83, 88 . Then find
the lower, middle and upper quartiles.

2. The size of a sample is 79 items. If = , = = , then

find the value of (A) (B) (C)
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3. Suppose the above 79 items are arranged in increasing order and are represented by the following figure

(A) How many items are there in each of the groups , , ?

(B) What total number of items are there in all the four groups? Is the result equals to 79?Why or Why not?

 Quartiles For Grouped Data

(i) First determine the class where item is located and find its lower boundary
(ii) Then use the following formula.

−
= +

Where, = Lower Boundary of the quartile class

= ∑
= Cumulative frequency of the class before the quartile class
= frequency of the quartile class
= class width

Example

Class Interval Frequency

Of Test Scores (Number of Students) The Test Scores (out of 25) of 50
students were collected and
1−5 6
summarized by the grouped distribution
6−10 10
11−15 18 shown in the adjoining Table. Find
16−20 12 (A) (B) (C)
21−25 4
TOTAL 50

 Deciles: divide the data in to 10 equal parts.There are 9 deciles

 : = , = , , ,…,

 Deciles For Ungrouped Data

(i) First arrange the values(items) in only increasing (or only decreasing) order.
(ii) Find = ( ) =∑
(iii) Use the following to compute =
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( )
(i) If , then = item

(ii) If , then = item

Example:

Values 13 18 20 25 28 33 38 40 48
Frequency 5 10 10 15 20 16 13 8 3

Find (A) (B) (C) (D)

 Deciles For Grouped Data

(i) First determine the class where item is located and find its lower boundary
(ii) Then use the following formula.

−
= +

Where, = Lower Boundary of the decile class

= ∑
= Cumulative frequency of the class before the decile class
= frequency of the decile class
= class width

 Percentiles: divide data in to 100 equal parts.

 : = , = , , ,…,

 Percentiles For Ungrouped Data

(i) First arrange the values(items) in only increasing (or only decreasing) order.
(ii) Find = ( ) =∑
(iii) Use the following to compute =

( )
(i) If , then = item

(ii) If , then = item

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Example:

Values 13 18 20 25 28 33 38 40 48
Frequency 5 20 20 25 20 16 14 12 8

Find (A) (B)

 Percentiles For Grouped Data

(ii) First determine the class where item is located and find its lower boundary
(ii) Then use the following formula.

−
= +

Where, = Lower Boundary of the decile class

= ∑
= Cumulative frequency of the class before the decile class
= frequency of the decile class
= class width

Example

Question numbers 1 and 2 refer to the following information

Frequency
The table shows grouped frequency Class Intervals of
(Number of
Masses(kg.)
Distribution of masses ( in Kg ) of persons)
50 persons. 40−45 7
46−51 9
52−57 10
58−63 12
64−69 6
70−75 6

1. The percentile mass is equal to:

(A) 62.8 kg (B) 61.3 kg (C) 60.5 kg (D) 59.5 kg
2. What percent of the persons weigh at most 50.5 kg?
(A) 29% (B) 31% (C) 35% (D) None of these

3. What percent of the persons weigh above . ?

(A) % (B) % (C) % (D) None of these.
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Measures of Variation (Measures of Dispersion): ,
(i) Range: is the simplest measure of variation
 Range For Ungrouped Data

= −

 Range For Grouped Data

= −

, =
=

Example: Find Range for the data given in each question number.

1)
Values( ) 13 34 66 78 93

Frequency( ) 3 3 8 5 2

2.
Age Interval
− − − − − −
(Years)

No. of Persons
5 8 13 11 6 6
(frequency)

3.
Height Interval in
− − − − −
(to the nearest tens)

No. of Persons
5 8 13 11 6
(frequency)

 Advantages of Range : It is simple for computation.

 Disadvantages of Range
 It is based only on the two extreme values and takes no account of the values between the two
extremes.
 It can also depend on the size of the sample. The Range of 10 observations is likely to be less
than the range for 50 observations.

 Application: Range is a useful measure of scatter(or dispersion) in statistical fields such as:
 Temperature and Climate studies
 Medical Reports
 Production Quality Control
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(ii) Variance & Standard Deviation

 Notation: For variance → ( ), ,
For Standard Deviation → ( ), ,
 For Ungrouped Data
For ungrouped data with frequency distribution the steps for computing are listed below
Steps Activities
∑
(i) Find the mean = ∑
(ii) Subtract the mean from each value of the data: −
(iii) Square the differences in step(ii): ( − )
(iv) Multiply each square by the corresponding frequency: ×( − )

(v) Finally compute by the formula ∑ ( − )

=
∑

Standard Deviation: = =√

For Ungrouped Data without frequency distribution: we simply insert 1 in place of each .

∑( )
=

Example:

1) Find variance and standard deviation for each given data

A)
1 4 7 10 13 16

1 2 3 5 3 1

B) : − , , , , ,

2) The mean of four measurements is 4. The sum of the squares of the four measurements is 84.
What is the variance and standard deviation of the measurements?

3) Prove that the variance of an ungrouped data can be obtained by the formula:
∑ ×
= −
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 Variance & Standard Deviation For Grouped Data

Assume that there are classes

Steps Activities
1. First find the class mark (i.e., midpoint) of the class for each = , , , … ,
2. Then the remaining steps are similar to those used for ungrouped data.
3. Then use the formula

∑ ( − )
=
∑

Where is class mark of the class

Example:
1) A test out of 15 is given to 12 students and their scores were summarized by the table given below

Scores − − − − Find the variance of

their scores.
Number of Students 2 4 2 4

Important Properties of Some Statistical Measurements

(i) Property of Mean

∑
Let be a population function whose values are , , ,…, and mean is =
Let be a second population function obtained by the formula = + , where , ∈ ℝ.
Then = +

Example
1. Prove the above property

2. Let : , , , , and = + . Find

(A) Find (B) Find the five values of the population function
(C) Find using the values you have obtained in question-letter B
(D) Find using the property of mean discussed above. (E) Are your results in C & D the same?

3. Consider the measurements 9689, 9692, 9694, 9697, 9698. Find the mean measurement
(A) in a simpler way using property of mean
(B) without using property of mean.

(ii) Property of Mean

Let be two population functions with equal number of observations with means
. If = + is a third population function obtained by adding the corresponding
values of the two population functions. Then = + .
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Example
1. Let represent the set of marks out of 40 of 6 students, represent the set of marks out of 60 of
the same 6 students. Let represent the marks out of 100 of the students. If

Marks Marks (A) List the marks out of 100 of the students.
Names of
Out of 40 Out of 60 (Note that = + )
Students
( ) ( )
(B) Find
Almaz 28 50 (C) Compute
(D) Compute using the marks you have
Hyredin 30 56 listed in question letter A
Fraol 30 43 (E) Compute using the property discussed
above.
Teklay 33 48

Firdos 37 39

Yabsira 40 52

(iii) Property of Variance & Standard Deviation

Let be a population function. Let be another population function related to by the formula
= + , , ∈ ℝ. Then,

( )= ( ) (or = )
( )= ( ) (or =

Example
1. Prove the above property.
2. Let be population functions. Where the values of are 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and = − .
(A) Find variance of . (B) Find the variance of Y. (C) List the values of
(D) Find variance of Y using the values you have listed in question letter C.

5.2 Probability

 Revision on Set Theory

 A set is a well defined collection of objects.
 Empty set is a set that doesn’t have element
 Relation Between Sets
1. Subset: ⊆ if and only if the statement (∀ )( ∈ ⟹ ∈ ) is True
2. Proper Subset: ⊂ if and only if the statement ( ⊆ )⋀( ⊈ ) is True
3. Equality: = if and only if the statement ( ⊆ )⋀( ⊆ ) is True
4. Equivalence: ↔ if and only if there is a one two one correspondence
between the sets .
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 Set Operations
1. Union: ⋃ = { : ( ∈ )⋁( ∈ )}
2. Intersection: ⋂ = { : ( ∈ )⋀( ∈ )}
3. Complement: Let ℧ be a universal set and ⊆ ℧. Then
= { : ( ∈ ℧)⋀( ∉ )}
4. Relative Complement: ∖ = { : ( ∈ )⋀( ∉ )}
5. Symmetric Difference: =( ⋃ )∖( ⋂ )
 Venn Diagrams
1. 3.
℧
=

=
2.
= ∖

 Properties
1. Commutative Properties
(i) ⋃ = ⋃ (ii) ⋂ = ⋂
2. Associative Properties
(i) ( ⋃ )⋃ = ⋃( ⋃ ) (ii) ( ⋂ )⋂ = ⋂( ⋂ )
3. Distributive Properties
(i) ⋃( ⋂ ) = ( ⋃ )⋂( ⋃ ) (ii) ⋂( ⋃ ) = ( ⋂ )⋃( ⋂ )
4. Complement
(i) ℧ = ∅ (ii) ∅ = ℧ (iii) ( ) =
5. Demorgan’s Laws
(i) ( ⋃ ) = ⋂ (ii) ( ⋂ ) = ⋃
6. Number of Elements
Notation: For a finite set , the number of elements of is denoted by ( )
(i) ( ) = (℧) − ( ) (ii) ( ∖ ) = ( ) − ( ⋂ )
(iii) ( ⋃ ) = ( ) + ( ) − ( ⋂ )
Random Experiment(or simply Experiment): is any activity that generates
well defined outcomes.
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Examples of Experiment:

Experiment Experimental Outcomes

Toss a coin Head, Tail {H, T}

Select a part for inspection Defective, nondefective
Conduct a sales call Purchase , no purchase
Roll a die 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Play a football game Win, Lose, Tie

 Sample Space: is the set of all possible outcomes of an experiment and is represented
by the symbol .
 Sample Point: is each outcome in the sample space.
Example
1) Experiment: Tossing three fair coins of different colors.
Let the events , , be events defined by
=
=
= .
Rewrite the sample space and the three events by listing their elements.
 Complement of an event , denoted by / , is the set of all elements of that are
not found in .
 Occurrence of an Event: An event has occurred if and only if any element of the
event resulted in an experiment.
 Mutually Exclusive Events
Two events, & , occur simultaneously if and only if the two events have one or
more common elements( or iff ∩ ≠ ∅).
Two events, & , are said to be mutually exclusive events if and only if (iff)
they are disjoint (i.e., iff ∩ = ∅). Such events cannot occur together simultaneously.
Example
1. Suppose a fair coin is tossed three times. Let , , be events defined by:
= . =
= . = .
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In each cell (or box) of the adjoining table, write

if the two events that correspond to that
cell are mutually exclusive. Otherwise,
write “×”.

 Probability of an Event\
Let be the sample space of an experiment and be an event. If the experiment has n possible
outcomes(i.e., ( ) = and the event can happen in different ways (i.e., ( ) = ), the
probability of occurrence of event , denoted by ( ), is computed by :
( )
( )= =
( )
Example
Let , be boys and , , be girls. Suppose the experiment is selecting 2 students randomly
from the 6 students to form a committee of two members. Below are defined some events.
= .
= .
= .
1. List the elements of
(A) (B) (C) (D)
2. In the above experiment what is the probability of getting a committee
(A) with exactly one girl member. (B) with no girl member
(C) with at least one girl member. (D) with exactly two-girl members

 Fundamental Principles of Counting

There are three principles: Multiplication Principle, Addition Principle, and Combined Principle.
 Multiplication Principle
If an operation can be performed in different ways, for each of these ways a second operation
can be performed in different ways, then the two operations can be performed one after the
other in × different ways.
The above principle can also be stated as follows.
If is an experiment with possible outcomes and is another experiment with possible
outcomes, then the experiment which consists of performing first and then consists of
× possible outcomes.
Example
1. Suppose there are three buses (A, B, C) that go from Piazza to Stadium; there are two other buses
(D and E) that take passengers from Stadium to Bole. In how many different ways can a passenger
go from Piazza to Bole using any two of the five buses? Determine the answer using
(A) Tree Diagram (B) the above multiplication principle
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Question numbers 2 up to 4 refer to the following information

You are given the six digits , , , , , and asked to form three- digit numbers using
any of the given six digits.

2. How many possible three-digit numbers can be formed if repetition of digits in the same number
A) is allowed? (Ans. 180) B) is not allowed? (Ans. 100)

3. How many of the three-digit numbers are even, if repetition of digits in the same number
A) is allowed? (Ans. 68) B) is not allowed? (Ans. 120)

4. How many of the three-digit numbers are greater than or equal to 300, if repetition of digits in the same
number
A) is allowed? (Ans. 80) B) is not allowed? (Ans. 144)

5. Suppose a die is rolled and then a coin is tossed twice. How many possible outcomes does this
experiment have? (Ans. 24)

6. License plates are made in such a way that the first character is one of the digits , , , the next
two characters are two letters chosen from the , and , and the last three characters are taken
from the digits , , , … , . If repetition is allowed how many license plate can be made? (Ans. 27000)

7. Suppose we have five different books. In how many different ways can this books be arranged in a
row of a shelf? (Ans. 120)

8. Four names are drawn randomly from the 13 members of a club for the offices of President,
Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. In how many different ways can this be done? (Ans. 17160)

 Addition Principle

Let be mutually exclusive events which occur in different ways, respectively.

Then either of the events (i.e. ) can occur in + different ways.

Example
1. In tossing a fair coin three times, let = , = .
A) Are & mutually exclusive? (B) In how many different ways does occur?
C) In how many different ways does occur?
D) In how many different ways does or occur?

2. A President and a Treasurer are to be chosen from a student club consisting of 50 people. How many
different choices of officers are possible if
(A) there are no restrictions? (Ans. 2450)
(B) will serve only if he is president? (Ans. 2401)
(C) & will serve together or not at all? (Ans. 2258)
(D) & will not serve together? (Ans. 2448)
(E) No two of , & will serve together? (Ans. 2444)
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3. In how many different ways can a True-False Test consisting of questions be answered? (Ans. 512)

4. In a Multiple-Choice Test consisting of 5 questions each with 4 possible answers of which only one
is correct.
(A) In how many different ways can a student check off one answer to each question? (Ans. 1024)
(B) In how many different ways can a student check off one answer to each question and get
all answers wrong? (Ans. 243)

5. A witness to a hit-and-run accident told the police that the license number contained the letters
followed by 3 digits, the first of which is a 5. If the witness cannot recall the last 2 digits, but
is certain that all 3 digits are different, find the maximum number of automobile registrations
that the police may have to check. (Ans. 72)

6. (A) In how many ways can 6 people be lined up to get on a bus? (Ans. 720)
(B) If 3 specific persons, among 6, insist on following each other, how many ways are possible? (Ans. 144)
(C) If 2 specific persons, among 6, refuse to follow each other , how many ways are possible? (Ans. 480)

7. In how many ways can 4 boys and 5 girls sit in a row if the boys and girls must alternate? (Ans. 2880)

8. Find the number of ways that 6 teachers can be assigned to 4 sections of an introductory psychology
course if no teacher is assigned to more than one section. (Ans. 360)

 Factorial
The symbol !, read as “ factorial”, represents the product of the first natural numbers.
That is, ! = ( − )( − ) … × ×
Example
! !
1) ! 2) 3)
! !

Permutation
The number of permutation (or arrangements) of different objects taking objects at a time, denoted
by ( , ) , and is defined by

!
( , )=
( − )!
Example
1. Evaluate the following expressions
(A) ( , ) (B)

2. Find the solution set of each given equations

(A) ( + , ) = (B) ( − , )= (C) ( , )= × ( , )
(D) ( , + ) ÷ ( , + ) =

3. Which of the following equals to ( , )+ ( , )+ ( , )+ ( , ) + …+ ( , )?

(A) ( , ) − (B) ( − , − )+ (C) ( + , + ) − (D) ( + , − )
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4. Ten different letters of alphabet are given. Words with five letters are formed from these given
letters. Then find the number of words which have at least one letter repeated. . (Ans. 69760)

5. In a regional spelling bee, the 8 finalists consist of 3 boys and 5 girls. Find the number of sample
points in the sample space for the number of possible orders at the conclusion of the contest for
(A) all 8 finalists. (Ans. 40320) (B) the first three positions (Ans. 336)

 Circular Permutation
The number of permutations of different objects arranged in a circle is ( − )!
Theorem
The number of distinct permutations of things of which are of one kind, are of a second kind,…
are of a − kind is
!
! ! … -21-
!
Example
1. In how many ways can 5 different trees be planted in a circle? (Ans. 24)
2. How many distinct permutations can be made from the letters of the word ? (Ans. 3360)
3. A college team plays 12 football games during a season. In how many ways can the team end the
season with 7 wins, 3 losses, and 2 ties? (Ans. 7920)

 Combination

In permutation, order is important. But in many problems the order of selection is not important and
interest centers only on the set of objects selected.
The number of combinations (or selection) of different objects taking objects at a time is denoted
by (or ( , ) or or ) and is defined by:

!
=
( − )! !

Example
( , )
1. Prove that (A) ( , )= (B) = (C) = (D) = +
!

2. Compute (A) ( , ) (Ans. 56) (B) ( , ) (Ans. 792)

3. Find the truth set of each given equation

(A) ( + , ) = (Ans. { }) (B) ( − , ) = (Ans. {− }) (C) = + (Ans. { })
(D) = (Ans. { , })
4. How many line segments are determined by 5 non-collinear points? (Ans. 10)

5. How many diagonals does an octagon have? (Ans. 20 diagonals)

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6. Let be a set with 10 elements. How many of its subsets have
(A) exactly 3 elements? (Ans. 120 subsets) (B) exactly 6 elements? (Ans. 70 subsets)
(C) at least 9 elements? (Ans. 11 subsets) (D) at least one element? (Ans. 1023 subsets)

7. Suppose there are 10 students of which 4 are girls. If a committee of 3 members is to be selected
randomly, then
(A) how many possible such committees can be formed? (Ans. 120 committees)
(B) How many of the committees contain no girl member? (Ans. 20 committees)
(C) How many of the committees contain 2 girl-members? (Ans. 36 committees)
(D) How many of the committees contain at least one girl member? (Ans. 100 committees)

8. A list of 10 examination questions is to be chosen from 30 review questions. Ten percent is to be scored
for each correct answer and only correct answers are to receive credit. In how many ways can a list of 10
questions be selected such that a student who knows 15 of the answers of the review questions will
score
(A) 100% ? (Ans. = 3003) (B) 80%? (Ans. = )
(C) 40 %? (Ans. =)

9. Two urns contain balls that are distinguishable. The first urn contains 10 balls while the second
contains 8 balls. How many 7 ball selections, 3 balls from the first urn and 4 balls from the second
urn, are possible? (Ans. = )
10. Four students are selected at random from chemistry class and classified as male or female. List the
elements of each of the following sample spaces.
(A) The elements of the sample space using the letter " " for “male” and " " for “female”
(B) A second sample space whose elements represent the number of females selected.

11. An experiment consists of tossing a die and then flipping a coin once if the number on the die is even.
If the number on the die is odd, then the coin is flipped twice. Construct a tree diagram fo show all
elements of the sample space. ( )

12. Suppose that a family is leaving on a summer vaccation in their car and that that they
will experience mechanical problem, that they will receive a ticket for committing a
traffic violation, and that they will arrive at a camp site with no vacancies. Referrint
to the Venn diagram shown below state in words the events represented by the following regions

(A) 5
7
5 4 (B) 3
(C) 1 2 ℎ
1 3
2 (D) 4 7 ℎ

6
8

13. Using the Venn diagram in number 12, list the numbers of the regions that represent the following
events
(A) The family will experience no mechanical problems and commit no traffic violation but will arrive
 -23-
at a campsite with no vacancies.

(B) The family will experience both mechanical problems and trouble in locating a campsite with a
vacancy but will not receive a ticket for a traffic violation.

(C) The family will either have mechanical trouble or arrive at a campsite with no vacancies but will
not receive a ticket for committing a traffic violation.

(D) The family will not arrive at a campsite with no vacancies.

14. A contractor wishes to build 9 houses, each different in design. In how many ways can he place these
houses on a street if 6 lots are on one side of the street and 3 lots are on the opposite side?
( : × !× != )
Powers of Binomials

Two methods of expanding powers of binomial expressions of the form ( + ) , where ∈ .

Method I: Using Pascal Triangle Method(we can abbreviate this as PTM)
Methos II: Binomial Theorem Methoe ( BTM)

Pascal Triangle

1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 2 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 3 3 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 4 6 4 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 5 10 10 5 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 6 15 20 15 6 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
1 7 21 35 35 21 7 1 ..…coefficients of ( + )
.
.

, = , , , ,… , ..…coefficients of ( + )

Example :
1) Rewrite each of the following using PTM
(A) ( + ) (B) ( − ) (C) −
Answers: (A) + + +
(B) − + − + − + − +
(C) − + − + − +

2) In the expansion of the expression ( − ) , what is the coefficient of

(A) ? (Ans. 60) (B) ? (Ans. – )

Binomial Theorem

( + ) = , − .
 -24-

1. Expand the following using Binomial Theorem

(A) ( + ) (B) ( − ) (C) −

2. In the expansion of the expression ( − ) , what is the coefficient of

(A) ? (Ans. – ) (B) ? (Ans. )

3. In the expansion of the expression − , what is

(A) the coefficient of ? (Ans. (− ) =− ) (B) the coefficient of ? (Ans. (− ) = )
(C) the constant term? (Ans. (− ) = )

Assigning Probability to an Event

There are different approaches of measuring probability. They are:

 Classical approach(or Mathematical approach)
 Empirical Approach(Relative Frequency Approach)
 Axiomatic Approach
Regardless of the methods (approach) used, two basic requirements for assigning probability must be met.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ASSIGNING PROBABILITIES

1. The probability assigned to each experimental outcome must be between , inclusively. That is,
if = experimental outcome and ( ) =probability of occurrence of the outcome, then
≤ ( )≤

2. The sum of the probabilities of all experimental outcomes must equal to 1. That is, if , ,…,
are all outcomes of an experiment, then

( )=

Classical (or Mathematical) Method: is appropriate when all experimental outcomes are equally
likely; that is , when all outcomes have equal chance of occurrence. If a random experiment has
equally likely outcomes, then the probability of occurrence of each outcome is . This means
for each event , ( )= .
Question: Does this method satisfy The Two Basic Requirements For Assigning Probabilities? Prove
your answer.
Example: A card is drawn randomly from a deck of well shuffled 52 playing cards. What is the
probability that the card drawn is
(A) a spade of an ace? (B) a King? (C) a Jack or a Queen?
 -25-
Empirical (Relative Frequency) Method:is appropriate when data are available to estimate the proportion
of the time the experimental outcome occur if the experiment is repeated a large number of times
the probability of the occurrence of the event is given by:
( )= =

Example:

Suppose waiting times of patients in the − department of a certain hospital was recorded by a
clerk. The clerk recorded the number of patients waiting to get service at : . on 20 successive
days and obtained the following result.

Number of Patients Number of days the

Waiting outcomes occurred
0 2
1 5
2 6
3 4
4 3
TOTAL 20

(A) Find the relative frequencies

(B) What is the probability that
(i) 2 patients will be waiting for service on any particular day? (Ans: . )
(ii) 3 patients will be waiting for service on any particular day? (Ans: . )

The Axiomatic Approach

Here, the probability of an event is considered as a function that satisfies the following definition.
Definition
Let be the sample space of a random experiment. With each event is associated a real number
called the probability of the event (which is denoted by ( )), that satisfies the following properties
called axioms(or postulates)
For a sample space and an event .
1) ≤ ( ) ≤

2) ( )

3) If and are mutually exclusive

( ⋃ )= ( )+ ( )

Example
1. Use the above axioms to prove each of the following.
(A) (∅) = (B) ( ) = − ( )
(C) For any two events ; ( ⋃ ) = ( ) + ( ) − ( ⋂ )….
(D) For any two events ; ( )= ( ⋂ )+ ( ⋂ )
(E) For events ; if ⊆ , then prove that ( ) ≤ ( )
 -26-
2. Suppose the sample space, , of a random experiment is given b y = { , , , }
Determine whether the following assignments of probabilities are correct or wrong.

0.5 0.1 0.3 0.4

1.3 0.2 − . 0.1
0.2 0.1 0.08 0.62
Odds in favour of and Odds against an event
Let be an event where
Probability of occurrence of = (i.e., ( ) = )
Probability of non occurrence of = (i.e., ( ) = ) . Then
the ratio : is called odds in favour of event .
The ratio : is called odds against the event .

Example
1. Let be an event with ( ) = . Find
(A) probability of non occurrence of . (B) odds in favour of (C) odds against

2. Suppose the odds against an event is : . Find

(A) ( ) (B) ( ) (C) the odds in favour of

Exercises
1. A card is drawn at random from an ordinary deck of 52 playing cards. Find the probability that
it is (A) an ace, (B) a jack of hearts, (C) a three of clubs or a six of diamonds (D) a heart,
(E) any suit except hearts, (F) a ten or a spade, (G) neither a four nor a club.
: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) (G)

2. A ball is drawn at random from a box containing 6 red balls, 4 white balls, and 5 blue balls. Determine
the probability that it is (A) red, (B) white, (C) blue, (D) not red, (E) red or white
: (A) (B) (C) (D) (E)

3. Find the probability of not getting a 7 or 11 total on either of two tosses of a pair of a pair of fair dice.
:

4. Find the probability of a 4 turning up at least once in two tosses of a fair die. :

5. In how many ways can 10 people be seated on a bench if only 4 seats are available? : ( , ) =

6. It is required to seat 5 men and 4 women in a row so that the women occupy the even places. How
many such arrangements are possible? : ( , )× ( , )=
 -27-

7. Four different mathematics books, six different physics books, and two different chemistry books
are to be arranged on a shelf. How many different arrangements are possible if
(A) the books in each particular subject must all stand together?
(B) only the mathematics books must stand together?
:( ) ( , ) × ( , ) × ( , ) × ( , ) = ! ! ! ! = ,
( ) ( , )× ( , )= ! != , ,

8. Five red marbles, two white marbles, and three blue marbles are arranged in a row. If all the marbles
of the same color are not distinguishable from each other, how many different arrangements are
!
possible? :
! ! !

9. In how many ways can 7 people be seated at a round table if (A) they can sit anywhere, (B) two
particular people must not sit next to each other?
:( ) ! = ( ) !− ! ! =

10. Out of 5 mathematicians and 7 physicists, a committee consisting of 2 mathematicians and 3

physicists is to be formed. In how many ways can this be done if (A) any mathematician and any
physicist can be included? (B) one particular physicist must be on the committee? (C) two
particular mathematicians cannot be on the committee? :( ) ( ) ( )

11. A shelf has 6 mathematics books and 4 physics books. Find the probability that 3 particular
( , )× ( , )
mathematics books will be together? : =
( , )

Independent Events
Two events are said to be independent events, if the occurrence or non occurrence of one of
the events does not affect the probability of occurrence of the other event.

Example
1. Suppose our experiment is drawing a card twice randomly with replacement from a deck of 52 ordinary
playing cards.
Let = , = and
=
(A) What is ( ), if in the first draw has occurred?
(B) What is ( ), if in the first draw has occurred?
(C) Does the occurrence or non occurrence of a Jack in the first draw affect the probability of the
probability of occurrence of a Jack in the second draw?
(D) Are the events independent or dependent?
(E) What is the probability that two Jacks are drawn twice?

2. Suppose our experiment is drawing a card twice and randomly without replacement from a deck of
52 ordinary playing cards. Events , are those given in number 1.
(A) What is ( ), if in the first draw has occurred?
(B) What is ( ), if in the first draw has occurred?
(C) Does the occurrence or non occurrence of a Jack in the first draw affect the probability of the
probability of occurrence of a Jack in the second draw?
(D) Are the events independent or dependent?
 -28-
Conditional Probability
Let be two events. The probability that event will occur given that event has already
occurred is denoted by ( / ) and is called conditional probability of given that has already
occurred.
Note: If are independent events then ( / ) = ( ).

Multiplication Rule
Let be two events. Then the probability that both events occur is denoted by ( ⋂ )
( ) and is given by:

( ⋂ ) = ( ) × ( / ), ( )≠

( ⋂ ) = ( ) × ( / ), ( )≠

Example

1. If are independent events, then prove that ( ⋂ ) = ( ) × ( )

2. A box contains 4 white marbles and 6 red marbles. A marble is drawn at random, and without
replacing it a second marble is drawn randomly. What is the probability that
(A) both marbles are white? : (B) the first is white but the second is red? :
(C) exactly one red marble is drawn? : (D) at least one marble is white? :

3. (Text page 207)

A bag contains 3 red, 4 blue and 3 white balls. Three balls are drawn one after the other. Find the
probability of getting a red ball on the first draw, a blue ball on the second draw and a white ball
on the third draw if
(A) each ball is drawn, but then replaced back before the next draw. :
(B) the balls are drawn without replacement. :

4. Find the probability that a single toss of a die will result in a number less than 4 if
(A) no other information is given and (B) it is given that the toss resulted in an odd number.
) : B) :

5. Two cards are drawn from a well-shuffled ordinary deck of 52 cards. Find the probability that they
are both aces if the first card is (A) replaced : (B) not replaced :

6. One bag contains 4 white balls and 2 black balls; another contains 3 white balls and 5 black balls.
If one ball is drawn from each bag, find the probability that (A) both are white, :
(B) both are black : (C) one is white and one is black :

7. contains 3 red and 2 blue marbles while contains 2 red and 8 blue marbles. A fair
coin is tossed. If the coin turns up head, a marble is chosen from ; if it turns up tail, a
marble is chosen from . Find the probability that a red marble is chosen. :
 -29-

NATIONAL EXAMINATION QUESTIONS

1. (2010 E.C)
Let be two events. Suppose that the probability that neither event occurs is . What is the
probability that at least one of the events occur?
(A) (B) (C) (D)

2. (2010 E.C)
A private college has 1000 students. 60% of these students are males. 45% of these students pay
their payment by credit card including 175 females. What is the probability that a student selected
randomly is a male or a credit card user?
(A) . (B) . (C) . (D) . :

3. (2010 E.C)
The time needed to type a sample of 8 business letters in an office is 7, 8, 6, 8, 9, 7, 5, 6 minutes. What
is the mean ( ) and the standard deviation ( ) of the data in minutes?
(A) = , = √ (C) = , = √ .
(B) = , = √ (D) = , = √ .

4. (2010 E.C)
The age distribution of students in a certain class is given below:

Age − − − −
No. of students 2 10 6 7

What is the modal value of the distribution?

(A) . (B) . (C) . (D) .

5. (2010 E.C)
The variance of 20 observation is 5. If each observation is multiplied by 2, then what is the variance
of the resulting observation?
(A) 20 (B) 10 (C) 5 (D) 40

6. (2009 E.C)
A team of 10 researchers consists 4 biologists and 6 chemists. If s persons are chosen randomly from
the team, what is the probability that at least one is a biologist?
(A) (B) (C) (D) :

7. (2009 E.C)
The probability that an electronic device produced by a company does not function properly is equal
to . . If 2 devices are bought, then what is the probability that at least 1 device functions properly?
(A) . (B) . (C) . (D) . :
 -30-
8. (2009 E.C)
Two machines produce respectively 60% and 40% of the total number of items of a factory.
The percentages of defective output of these machines are 2% and 5%, respectively. If an item is
selected at random, then what is the probability that the item is defective?
(A) . (B) . (C) . (D) . :

9. (2009 E.C)
In how many ways can a committee of 3 members be formed candidates?
(A) 7 (B) 21 (C) 28 (D) 35

10. (2009 E.C)

The following is a frequency distribution table of a grouped data with variable .

− − − −
Frequency 4 6 8 2

What is the mean ( ) and the variance ( ) of the data respectively?

(A) = , = (C) = , =
(B) = , = 25 (D) = , = 16

11. (2009 E.C)

The expenditure of 100 families is given below.

Expenditure − − − − −
No. of Families 14 23 21

If the mode of the data is 23.5, what are the values of and ?
(A) = , = (C) = , =
(B) = , = (D) = , =

12. (2009 E.C)

The first group of 10 children has a mean weight of . , the second group of another 10
Children has a mean weight of , and the third group of children has a mean weight of
. If the mean weight of all the children is , what is the total number of children in
all of the three groups ?
(A) 28 (B) 29 (C) 30 (D) 32

13. (2008 E.C)

The following is a simple frequency distribution of a data with variable .
3 5 6 7
Frequency 2 5 2 1

What is the mean ( ) and the variance ( ) of the data?

(A) = , = . (C) = , = .
(B) = , = . (D) = , = 1.4
 -31-
14. (2008 E.C)
A box contains 10 items of which 3 are defective. If items are randomly taken out of the box,
what is the probability that both items are not defective?
(A) (B) (C) (D)
15. (2008 E.C)
Items produced by a certain company are subjected to two kinds of defects . Out of the
total product, 5% have the defect , 10% have defect , and 2% have both defects. What is the
probability that a randomly selected item has neither defect nor defect ?
(A) . (B) . (C) . (D) .
16. (2008 E.C)
There are three children in a room, ages three, four and five. If a four-year-old child enters the
room, then which one of the following is true?
(A) mean age will stay the same but the standard deviation will increase.
(B) mean age will stay the same but the standard deviation will decrease.
(C) mean age and standard deviation will increase
(D) mean age and standard deviation will stay the same.
17. (2008 E.C)
In how many more ways can 4 people be arranged in a row than if they were arranged in a circle?
(A) 1 (B) 6 (C) 18 (D) 12
18. (2008 E.C)
Two machines work independently. The probability that both machines work
is . . If the conditional probability that machine works given that machine works is 0.5, then
the conditional probability that machine works given that machine works is _________
(A) 0.8 (B) 0.3 (C) 0.5 (D) 0.7
19. (2007 E.C)
The following is set of data representing the average mark of 13 students:
, , , , , , , , , , , , .
Then which one of the following statements is true about the data?
(A) The median is . (C) The range of the marks is 11
(B) The upper quartile is (D) The mean is .
20. (2007 E.C)
Different codes, each of which consisting of five characters, are to be generated in such a way that
the first two characters are any of the English capital letters (A to Z) and the remaining three
are any of the digits ( 0, 1, . . .,9). How many distinct codes can be generated so?
(A) , (B) (C) , (D) ! × !

21. (2007 E.C)

A city has two daily newspapers, . The following information was obtained from a survey of
100 residents of the city: 35 people subscribe to , 60 people subscribe to and 20 subscribe both
newspapers. Then how many of the people in the survey do not subscribe to either of the newspapers?
(A) 5 (B) 25 (C) 40 (D) 55
 -32-
22. (2007 E.C)
Suppose that the first three letters ( , , ) and number digits are to be used to form car plates
in a small town. How many different plates can be formed in total that contain 1, 2, or 3 letters and
then followed by 3 digits?
(A) , (B) , (C) , (D) ,

23. (2007 E.C)

A measurement is grouped into five class intervals with the following frequency distribution.
Class Interval − − − − −
Frequency 22 40 68 50 20

What is the first quartile and the percentile of the measurement?

(A) = , = (C) = , =
(B) = = (D) = =
24. (2006 E.C)
If the list of measurement is , , , , , , , , , with mean , then what is the value of
in terms of ?
(A) − (B) − (C) − (D) −
25. (2006 E.C)
The following is the frequency distribution of a grouped data.
Class Intervals Frequency ( ) What is the mean and the standard deviation of
the distribution, respectively?
− 2
(A) , √ (C) . , √
− 2
(B) , √ . (D) . , √
− 10
− 6

26. (2006 E.C)

If distinct codes (words) of eight letters are formed by rearranging the letters in the word
‘ABBEBAYE’, how many of the codes begin with B or Y?
(A) 840 (B) 630 (C) 1680 (D) 420

27. (2006 E.C)

A company produced , bulbs and randomly tested 2% of the product. Among the tested bulbs
if 60 have defect of type , 60 have defect of type and 25 have both types of defects, what is
the probability that a bulb produced by the company has none of the defects?
(A) . (B) . (C) . (D) .

28. (2006 E.C)

If is a set with 10 elements and ⊆ , what is the probability that has 3 or more elements?
(A) (B) (C) (D)
29. If the mode and median of the given data
Interval − − − − − are, respectively, . & 23.5, then find
Frequency 3 20 5 the values of the frequencies &
Ans: = & =