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Mathematics · Glossary

What is Probability distribution?

Also known as: probability

Definition 9.2 High School Mathematics · Chapter 9 — Probability and Sampling

Assigning to each outcome ωi\omega_i a number pi≥0p_i \geq 0, with p1+⋯+pn=1p_1 + \dots + p_n = 1, defines a probability: the probability P(A)\P(A) of an event AA is the sum of the pip_i of the outcomes in AA. In particular P(Ω)=1\P(\Omega) = 1 and the impossible event ∅\varnothing has probability 00.

Examples

Example 9.4

Roll a fair die: Ω={1,2,3,4,5,6}\Omega = \{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6\}, each outcome having probability 16\frac16. The event AA: “the result is even” is A={2,4,6}A = \{2, 4, 6\}, so P(A)=36=12\P(A) = \frac36 = \frac12. The event BB: “the result is at least 55” is B={5,6}B = \{5, 6\}, so P(B)=26=13\P(B) = \frac26 = \frac13.

Example 9.7

Draw one card from a standard 5252-card deck. Let AA: “the card is a heart” (1313 cards) and BB: “the card is a king” (44 cards). Then A∩BA \cap B is “the king of hearts” (11 card), and

P(A∪B)=1352+452−152=1652=413.\P(A \cup B) = \frac{13}{52} + \frac{4}{52} - \frac{1}{52} = \frac{16}{52} = \frac{4}{13}.

The complement rule is often the fastest route: the probability that the card is not a heart is 1−1352=341 - \frac{13}{52} = \frac34.

Example 9.9

An urn contains 33 red balls and 22 blue balls. Draw one ball, put it back, draw again. Each draw gives red (R) with probability 35\frac35 and blue (B) with probability 25\frac25.

The tree of two draws with replacement. The four path probabilities sum to 1.
The tree of two draws with replacement. The four path probabilities sum to 11.

The probability of getting two balls of the same color is P(RR)+P(BB)=925+425=1325\P(\text{RR}) + \P(\text{BB}) = \frac{9}{25} + \frac{4}{25} = \frac{13}{25}; the probability of at least one blue is 1−P(RR)=1−925=16251 - \P(\text{RR}) = 1 - \frac{9}{25} = \frac{16}{25} (complement rule).

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