Statistics and Probability

What is Statistics?
Statistics - study of how to collect, organize, analyze, and interpret numerical information from data

Individuals - people or objects included in the study

Variables - characteristics of the individual to be measured or observed
● Quantitative variable - value or numerical measurement for which operations such as addition or
averaging make sense
● Qualitative variable - describes an individual by placing the individual into category or group such as
male or female
Example: Study about people who have climbed the Mt. Everest
Individuals - all people who have made it to the summit
Variable - height, age, weight, gender, nationality, or income
● Quantitative variable - height, weight, age, income
● Qualitative variable - gender or nationality

Population data - the variable is from every individual of interest

Example: data from all individuals who have climbed Mt. Everest
Sample data - the variable is from only some of the individuals of interest
Example: data from just some of the climbers

Exercise: The Hawaii Department of Tropical Agriculture is conducting a study of ready-to-harvest pineapples
in an experimental field.
a. The researchers are interested in the individual weights of all pineapples in the field.
Individuals

Variable

Type of variable

Type of data

b. The researchers want data on taste of some pineapples.

Individuals

Variable

Type of variable

Type of data

What is Probability?
Probability - numerical measure between 0 and 1 that describes the likelihood that an event will occur.
Probabilities closer to 1 indicate that the event is more likely to occur. Probabilities closer to 0 indicate that the
event is less likely to occur.

P(A), read “P of A,” denotes the probability of event A,

If P(A) = 1, the event A is certain to occur
If P(A) = 0, the event A is certain not to occur

Lesson 1: Introduction
 Statistics and Probability
Exercise: Which of the following numbers cannot be the probability of some event?
1
(a) 0.71 (b) 4.1 (c) (d) -0.5
8
(e) 0.5 (f) 0 (c) 1 (d) 150%

Probability formula when outcomes are equally likely

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐴
𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠

Example: Determine the probability that Henry will correctly guess the answer to a true-false question
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐴 1
𝑃 (𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑟) = =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 2

Statistical experiment or statistical observation - any random activity that results in a definite outcome
Example: tossing a coin
Event - collection of one or more outcomes of a statistical experiment or observation
Example: two possible outcomes: head or tail
Simple event - outcome of a statistical experiment that consists of one and only one of the outcomes of the
experiment
Example: head or tail
Sample space - set of all simple events
Example: two simple events: head or tail

Example: Using a sample space

Human eye color is controlled by a single pair of genes (one from the father and one from the mother) called a
genotype. Brown eye color, B, is dominant over blue eye color, l. Therefore, in the genotype Bl, consisting of
one brown gene B and one blue gene l, the brown gene dominates. A person with the a Bl genotype has
brown eyes. Blue eyes can occur only with the ll genotype. Brown eyes occur with the three remaining
genotypes: BB, Bl, and lB.
If both parents have brown eyes and have genotype Bl,
(a) What is the probability that their child will have blue eyes?
(b) What is the probability that their child will have brown eyes?

Solution:
Eye color genotypes for child
Father Mother

B l

B BB Bl

l lB ll

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 1

(a) 𝑃 (𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠) = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠
= 4
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 3
(b) 𝑃 (𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠) = =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 4

Lesson 1: Introduction
 Statistics and Probability
Exercise: Using a sample space
Professor Gutierrez is making up a final exam for a course in literature of the Southwest. He wants the last
three questions to be one of the true-false type. To guarantee that the answers do not follow his favorite
pattern, he lists all possible true-false combinations for three questions on slips of paper and then picks one at
random from a hat.
(a) Finish listing the outcomes in the given sample ⇒
space.
TTT FTT TFT ___
TTF FTF TFF ___

(b) What is the probability that all three items will ⇒

be false? Use the formula
𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠
𝑃 (𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐹) =
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠

(c) What is the probability that exactly two items ⇒

will be true?

The sum of the probabilities of all simple events in a sample space must equal to 1.
The complement of event A is the event that A does not occur. Ac designates the complement of A.
Furthermore,
1. P(A) + P(Ac) = 1
2. P(event A does not occur) = P(Ac) = 1 - P(A)
Example: Complement of an event
The probability that a college student without a flu shot will get the flu is 0.45. What is the probability that a
college student will not get the flu if the student has not had the flu shot?

Solution:
P(will get flu) = 0.45
P(will not get flu) = 1 - P(will get flu) = 1 - 0.45 = 0.55

Exercise: Complement of an event

A veterenarian tells you if you breed two cream-colored guinea pigs, the probability that an offspring will be
pure white is 0.25. What is the probability that the an offspring will not be pure white?
(a) P(pure white) + P(not pure white) = _____ ⇒

(b) P(not pure white) = _____ ⇒

Some Probability Rules - Compound Events

A. Conditional Probability and Multiplication Rules
Multiplication rules can be used to find the probability of two events happening together.
Notation: P(A and B) or P(A, given B)

Independent events - occurence and nonoccurence of one event does not change the probability that the
other will occur
Example: You roll two dice. What is the probability that you will get a 5 on each die?

Lesson 1: Introduction
 Statistics and Probability
Notation: P(5 on 1st die and 5 on 2nd die)

Dependent events - occurence and nonoccurence of one event change the probability that the other will occur
Example: You draw two cards from a well-shuffled, standard deck without replacing the first card before
drawing the second. What is the probability that they will be both aces?
Notation: P(ace on 1st card and ace on 2nd card)

Probability of A and B
If two events A and B are independent, then we use this formula to compute the probability of the event A and
B:

Multiplication rule for independent events

P(A and B) = P(A) ০ P(B)

Conditional probability
The notation P(A, given B) denotes the probability that event A will occur, given that event B has occurred.
This is called conditional probability. We read P(A, given B) as “probability of A given B.”

General multiplication rule for any events

P(A and B) = P(A) ০ P(B, given that A has occurred)
P(A and B) = P(B) ০ P(A, given that B has occurred)

Conditional probability (when P(B) ≠ 0)

𝑃(𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵)
𝑃(𝐴, 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝐵) =
𝑃(𝐵)
Example: Multiplication rule
Suppose you are going to throw two fair dice. What is the probability of getting a 5 on each die?

Solution:
P(5 on 1st die and 5 on 2nd die) = P(5 on 1st) ০ P(5 on 2nd)
1 1 1
=6 ০ 6
= 36

Example: Dependent events

Compute the probability of drawing two aces from a well-shuffled deck of 52 cards if the first card is not
replaced before the second card is drawn.

Solution:
P(ace on 1st card and ace on 2nd card) = P(ace on 1st) ০ P(ace on 2nd, given ace on 1st)
4 3 12
= 52 ০ 51
= 2653 ≈ 0.0045

Exercise: Multiplication rule

Andrew is 55, and the probability that he will be alive in 10 years is 0.72. Ellen is 35, and the probability that
she will be alive in 10 years is 0.92. Assuming that the life span of one will have no effect on the life span of the
other, what is the probability they will both be alive in 10 years?

(a) Are these events dependent or independent? ⇒

Lesson 1: Introduction
 Statistics and Probability

(b) Use the appropriate multiplication rule to find ⇒

P(Andrew alive in 10 years and Ellen alive in 10
years).

Exercise: Dependent events

A quality control procedure for testing Ready-Flash disposable cameras consists of drawing two cameras at
random from each lot of 100 without replacing the first camera before drawing the second. If both are
defective, the entire lot is rejected. Find the probability that both cameras are defective if the lot contains 10
defective cameras. Since we are drawing the cameras at random, assume that each camera in the lot has an
equal chance of being drawn.
(a) What is the probability of getting a defective ⇒
camera on the first draw?

(b) The first camera drawn is not replaced, so there ⇒

are only 99 cameras for the second draw. What is
the probability of getting a defective camera on the
second draw if the first camera was defective?

(c) Are the probabilities computed in parts (a) and ⇒ .

(b) different? Does drawing a defective camera on
the first draw change the probability of getting a a
defective camera on the second draw? Are the
events dependent?

(d) Use the formula for dependent events,P(A and ⇒

B) = P(A) ০ P(B, given A has occurred) to compute
P(1st camera defective and 2nd camera defective)

More than two independent events

Example: If you toss a fair coin, then roll a fair die, and finally draw a card from a standard deck of bridge
cards, compute the probability of the outcome heads on the coin and 5 on the die and an ace for the card.

Solution:
1 1 4 1
P(head) = 2
; P(5) = 6
; P(ace) = 52
= 13
1 1 1 1
P(head and 5 and ace) = 2
০ 6
০ 13
= 156

Addition Rules
Addition rules can be used to find the probability of one event or another occuring.
Notation: P(A or B)

The condition A or B is satisfied by any one of the following conditions:

Lesson 1: Introduction
 Statistics and Probability
1. Any outcome in A occurs.
2. Any outcome in B occurs.
3. Any outcome in both A and B occurs.

Exercise: Combining events

Indicate how each of the following pairs of events are combined. Use either the and combination or the or
combination.
(a) Satisfying the humanities requirement by taking ⇒
a course in the history of Japan or by taking a
course in classical literarture

(b) Buying new tires and aligning the tires ⇒

(c) Getting an A not only in psychology but also in ⇒

biology

(d) Having at least one of these pets: cat, dog, bird, ⇒

rabbit

Two events are mutually exclusive or disjoint if they cannot occur together. In particular, events A and B are
mutually exclusive if P(A and B) = 0.

Addition rule for mutually exclusive events A and B

P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B)
Example: Mutually exclusive events
Compute the probability of drawing either a jack or a king on a single draw from a well-shuffled deck of cards.

Solution:
4 4 8 2
P(jack or king) = P(jack) + P(king) = + = =
52 52 52 13

General addition rule for any events A and B

P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A and B)
Example: General addition rule
Compute the probability of drawing either a king or a diamond on a single draw from a well-shuffled deck of
cards.

Solution:
4 13 1
P(king) = 52 ; P(diamond) = 52 ; P(king and diamond) = 52
P(king or diamond) = P(king) + P(diamond) - P(king and diamond)
4 13 1
= 52 + 52
− 52
16 4
= 52 = 13

Exercise: Mutually exclusive events

The Cost Less Clothing Store carries seconds in slacks. If you buy a pair of slacks in regular waist size without
trying them on, the probability that the waist will be too tight is 0.30 and the probability that it will be too loose is
0.10.
(a) Are the events too tight or too loose mutually ⇒

Lesson 1: Introduction
 Statistics and Probability
exclusive?

(b) If you choose a pair of slacks at random in your ⇒

regular waist size, what is the probability that it will
be too tight or too loose?

Exercise: General addition rule

Professor Jackson is in charge of a program to prepare people for a high school equivalency exam. Records
show that 80% of the students need work in Math, 70% need work in English, and 55% need work in both
areas.
(a) Are the events needs Math and needs English ⇒
mutually exclusive?

(b) Use the appropriate formula to compute the ⇒

probability that a student selected at random needs
Math or needs English.

More than two mutually exclusive events

Example: Mutually exclusive events
Laura is playing monopoly. On her next move she needs to throw a sum bigger than 8 on the two dice in order
to land on her own property and pass Go. What is the probability that Laura will roll a sum bigger than 8?

Solution:
P(9 or 10 or 11 or 12) = P(9) + P(10) + P(11) + P(12)
4 3 2 1
= 36 + 36
+ 36
+ 36
10 5
= =
36 18

Lesson 1: Introduction