Application of Probability
Alisher Ashurov
Portfolio
Investigating Theoretical Probability
Inspired by
- Of having a pop quiz in Math?
- Of getting “heads” when you flip a coin?
- Of you winning the lottery?
What are the chances?
The Language of Probability
Probability is the study of chance and prediction.
Each test is known as a trial, which is also called an experiment.
For every trial, there is an outcome.
The list of all possible outcomes of a trial is called the sample space.
Possible Outcomes: 6
Sample Space: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
What number will you roll?
We can group these outcomes into events such as:
rolling an even number or rolling a number greater than 3.
Categories of Likelihood
Impossible
If no outcomes correspond to
the event
Can you think of one event per category?
Unlikely
If it happens less than half the time
Certain
If every outcome corresponds to the event
Likely
If the event happens more than half the time
Even Chance
If it happens exactly half
the time
Unlikely
Drawing an Ace
Certain
Drawing a card that is a Spade, Heart, Club, or Diamond
Likely
Drawing a card that is not 2
Even Chance
Drawing a black card
Impossible
Drawing a blue card
Considering a standard deck of cards, here are some events sorted into each category:
How likely...
We can also use numbers to represent the likelihood of an outcome.
Probability as a Number
Impossible
Even Chance
Certain
Unlikely
Likely
1
2
0.5
50%
3
10
0
0%
1
100%
20%
65%
0.85
The larger the number, the more likely it is. The smaller the number, the less likely it is.
To find the probability as a percentage, convert the fraction to a decimal and multiply by 100%.
Probability =
size of sample space
number of times an event can happen
We can use this equation to solve for the probability of an event
What is the likelihood of landing on blue?
Remember these terms:
- likelihood
- impossible
- unlikely
- even chance
- likely
- certain
- probability
- trial
- outcome
- sample space
Educational Resources
Review “Theoretical
Probability as a Likelihood”
and “Theoretical Probability
as a Number”
Questions or want to learn more?
Reach out!
Teacher Alisher Ashurov
alishershurov.us@gmail.co
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