Example:

A bag contains 4 white and 6 black balls. If one ball is drawn at random from the bag, what
is the probability that it is i. Black, ii. White, iii. White or black and iv. Red.

Answer:
i. Let A be the event that the ball is black, then the number of outcomes favorable to A is 6. Hence
m  Favorable outcomes of an event A = Number of black balls
P  A 
m 6
 ;
n 10 n  Total number of outcomes of the experiment = Total number of balls
ii. Let B be the event that the ball is white, and then the number of outcomes favorable to B is 4. Hence
m  Favorable outcomes of an event B = Number of white balls
P B  
m 4
 ;
n 10 n  Total number of outcomes of the experiment = Total number of balls

iii. Let C be the event that the ball is black or white and then the number of outcomes favorable to C is 10.
Hence
m  Favorable outcomes of an event C = Number of white or white balls
P C  
m 10
 ;
n 10 n  Total number of outcomes of the experiment = Total number of balls
iv. Let D be the event that the ball is red, and then the number of outcomes favorable to D is 0. Hence
m  Favorable outcomes of an event D = Number of red balls
P D  
m 0
 ;
n 10 n  Total number of outcomes of the experiment = Total number of balls

Problem:
Two balanced dice, one black and one red are thrown and the number of dots on their upper
faces are noted, let b be the outcomes of the black die and r be the outcomes of the red die.
Now answer the following:
i. List a sample space of the experiment.
ii. What is the probability of throwing a double?
iii. What is the probability that the sum is 5, that is b  r  5 ?
iv. What is the probability that the sum is even?
v. What is the probability that r  2 or b  3 ?
vi. What is the probability that the number on the red die is at least 4 greater than the
number on the black dice?
Answer:
i. If two balanced dice, one black and one red are thrown and the number of dots on their upper faces are
noted, also if b be the outcomes of the black die and r be the outcomes of the red die. Then the sample
space for the given experiment will be as follows:
r 1 2 3 4 5 6

b
1 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,6
2 2,1
3
4
5
6 6,1 6,2 6,6

ii. Let the event A = {the two dice shows the same number}
6
= {(1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4), (5,5), (6,6)}; There fore P( A) 
36
iii. Let the event B = {The sum of the two dies is 5, that is b  r  5 the two dice shows the same number}
= {(1,4), (2,3), (3,2), (4,1)}
4
There fore P( B) 
36
iv. Let the event C = {The sum of the two dies is even}
= {(1,1), (1,3), (1,5), (2,2), (2,4), …, … , … ,(6,4), (6,6), }
18
There fore P (C ) 
36
v. Let the event D = {(b,r)| r  2 or b  3 }
= {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,3), (1,4), (1,5), (1,6), (2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (2,5), (2,6), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4), (3, 5),

(3,6), (4,1), (4,2), (5,1), (5,2), (6,1), (6,2)}

24
There fore P( D) 
36
vi. Let the event E = { r  4  b } = {(1,5), (1,6), (2,6)}

3
There fore P( E ) 
36
Problem:

The following table gives a distribution of weekly wages of 4000 employes of a firm.

Wages in Below 500- 750- 1000- 1250- 1500- 1750 and

Tk. 500 750 1000 1250 1500 1750 above

No. of 36 472 1912 800 568 140 72

workers

An individual is selected random. What is the probability that his wage are i) under Tk.750 ii)
above Tk. 1250 iii) between Tk. 750 and 1250.

Ans: i) 0.127 ii) 0.195 iii) 0.678

Problem:
A box contains seven balls – two red, three blue and two yellow. Consider an experiment that
consists of drawing a ball from the box.
1. What is the probability that the first ball drawn is yellow?
2. What is the probability that the same colored ball is drawn twice without replacement?
3. What is the probability that the same colored ball is drawn twice with replacement?

Answer:

1. P (R) = 2/7
2. P (RR) + P (BB) + P (YY) = [P (R)*P (R)] + [P (B)*P (B)] + [P (Y)*P (Y)] =((2/7 * 1/6)
+ (3/7 * 2/6) + (2/7 * 1/6)
3. (2/7 * 2/7) + (3/7 * 3/7) + (2/7 * 2/7)
Example:

A jar consists of 21 sweets. 12 are green and 9 are blue. William picked two
sweets at random.

a) Draw a tree diagram to represent the experiment.

b) Find the probability that
i) both sweets are blue.
ii) One sweet is blue and one sweet is green.
c) William randomly took a third sweet. Find the probability that:
i) All three sweets are green?
ii) At least one of the sweet is blue?

Solution:
 Examples for Probability

1) The Personnel Department of a company has records which

show the following analysis of its 200 Engineers.

Bachelor's degree Master's

Age Total
only degree
Under 30 90 10 100
30 to 40 20 30 50
Over 40 40 10 50
Total 150 50 200

If one Engineer is selected at random from the company, find:

a) The probability he has only a bachelor's degree.
b) The probability he has master's degree, given that he is over 40.
c) The probability he is under 30, given that he has only a bachelor's
degree.

Example (2)
A market survey conducted in four cities pertained to preference for
brand A soup. The responses are shown below:

Dhaka Chittagong Khulna Rajshahi

Yes 45 55 60 50
No 35 45 35 45
No opinion 5 5 5 5
(i) What is the probability that a consumer selected at random
preferred brand A?
(ii) What is the probability that a consumer preferred brand A
and was from Khulna?
(iii) What is the probability that a consumer preferred brand A
given that he was from Khulna?
(iv) Given that a consumer preferred brand A, what is the
probability that he was from Rajshahi?

MZR_Problem Sets_STAT_MNS_BRACU
Solution
Let us define the events A, B, C, D as follows:
1) A: an engineer is under 30 years of age.
B: an engineer is over 40 years of age.
C: an engineer has bachelor's degree only.
D: an engineer has a master's degree.

a) The probability of an engineer who has a bachelor's degree

only is given by
P(C) = 150 = 0.75.
200
b) The probability of an engineer who has a master's degree,
given that he is over 40 years is
P(D / B) = P( D  B) = 10 / 200 = 10 = 0.20
P( B) 50 / 200 50
a) The probability of an engineer who is a under 30 years, given
he has only a bachelor's degree is
P(A/C)= P( A  C ) = 90 / 200 = 90 = 0.60
P(C ) 150 / 200 150
Example(2)
Dhaka Chittagong Khulna Rajshahi Total
Yes 45 55 60 50 210
No 35 45 35 45 160
No opinion 5 5 5 5 20
Total 85 105 100 100 390
Let the even A denote that a consumer selected at random
preferred brand A.
(i) (P(A) = 210 = 7 = 0.5385
390 13
60
(ii) (A  K) = = 2 = 0.1538
390 13
P( A  K )
(iii) P(A/K) = = 60 / 390 = 5
= 0.6
P( K ) 100 / 390 3

(iv) P(R/A) = P( R  A) = 50 / 390 = 5

= 0.238
P( A) 210 / 390 21

MZR_Problem Sets_STAT_MNS_BRACU
Problems about playing cards:

Total
Card(52)

Black
Red (26)
(26)

Diamon Hearts Spade Clubs

ds(13) (13) (13) (13)

K,Q,J, Others K,Q,J, Others K,Q,J, Others K,Q,J, Others

A (2-10) A (2-10) A (2-10) A (2-10)

Problem 1:

A card is drawn from a pack of 52 cards. Estimate the probability of getting –

i. The card is red

ii. The card is a diamond
iii. The card is an ace
iv. The card is a spade
v. The card is hearts or king

Solution:

i. Let, event A :The card is a red

There are 26 red cards out of 52 cards.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠
So, the required probability, P(A) = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠

26
= 52

1
= 2 = 0.5

ii. Let, event B : The card is a diamond

 There are 13 diamond cards out of 52 cards.
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠
So, the required probability, P(B) = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠

13
= 52

1
= 4 = 0.25

iii.

Let, event C : The card is an ace.

There are 4 ace cards out of 52 cards.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠
So, the required probability, P(C) = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠

4
= 52

1
= 13

iv.

Let, event D : The card is an spade.

There are 13 spade cards out of 52 cards.

𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠
So, the required probability, P(D) = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠

13
=
52

1
=4

v.

Let, E : the card is hearts

There are 13 heart cards out of 52 cards.

F : the card is king

There are 4 king cards out of 52 cards.

Normally, event E and F are not mutually exclusive events. Since the set of hearts contain a
king.

There are 1 card which is king and heart.

So, the probability of getting hearts or king is,

P(EꓴF) = P(E) + P(F) – P(EꓵF)

13 4 1
= 52 + −
52 52

4
= 13

Problem 2:

A bag contains 4 white, 3 black and 5 red balls. Estimate the probability of getting a white or
red ball at random at a single draw.

Solution:

The bag contains 4 white, 3 black and 5 red balls.

A : The ball is white

B: The ball is red

So, the probability of getting a white or red ball, P (A ꓴ B) is-

P(AꓴB) = P(A) + P(B) [ as they are mutually exclusive]

4 5
= 12 + 12
 9
= 12

3
=4

Problem 3:

Two bags contained 12 white , 7 red and 11 black ; 7 white, 10 red and 13 black respectively.
One ball is drawn at random from each bag. Find the probability that-

i. Both balls are of white color.

ii. Both balls are of same color.

Solution:

In the first bag, 12 white, 7 red and 11 black balls. Total number of balls = 30

In the second bag, 7 white, 10 red and 13 black balls. Total number of balls = 30

(i) Event A: both balls are of white color. i.e., one white ball is drawn from the first bag
and one white ball is drawn from the second bag.

The required probability, P(A)

= P(Probability of drawing white ball from first bag) . P(Probability of drawing white ball
from second bag)
12 7
= . 30
30

84
= 900

= 0.0933

(ii)

Event B : One red ball is drawn from the first bag and one red ball is drawn from the second
bag.

Event C : One black ball is drawn from the first bag and one black ball is drawn from the
second bag.
The required probability,

P(A or B or C) = P(AꓴBꓴC) = P(A) + P(B) + P(C)

P(B) = P(Probability of drawing red ball from first bag) . P(Probability of drawing red ball
from second bag)
7 10
= . 30
30

70
= 900

= 0.0778

P(C) = P(Probability of drawing black ball from first bag) . P(Probability of drawing black ball
from second bag)
11 13
= . 30
30

143
=
900

= .1589

So, P(AꓴBꓴC) = P(A) + P(B) + P(C)

= 0.0933 + .0778 + 0.1589

= 0.33

Problem 4:

One fair coin is tossed two times. Construct the sample space of the experiment. Find the
probability of getting i) all head ii) at least one head iii) at best one head iv) a head and a
tail.

Solution:

A fair coin is tossed for two times. The sample space of the experiment,
S = { HH, HT, TH, TT}

Total number of equally likely cases of sample points is, n(S) = 4

(i) Let , the event A : All head

The set of favourable cases of event A : {HH}, n(A) = 1

𝑛 (𝐴)
So, the required probability, P(A) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

1
=4

(ii) Let , the event B : at least one head

The set of favourable cases of event A : {HH, HT, TH}, n(B) = 3

𝑛 (𝐵)
So, the required probability, P(B) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

3
=4

(iii) Let , the event C : at best one head

The set of favourable cases of event C : {HT, TH, TT}, n(C) = 3

𝑛 (𝐶)
So, the required probability, P(C) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

3
=4

(iv) Let , the event D : a head and a tail

The set of favourable cases of event D : {HT, TH}, n(A) = 2

 𝑛 (𝐷)
So, the required probability, P(D) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

2
=4

1
=2

Problem 5:

Two dice are thrown at random. Write down the sample space and estimate the probability of-

i. The total numbers on the dice is 8

ii. The first dice show 6
iii. Both the dice show the same number.

Solution:

When two dice are thrown, the sample space S are listed below-

S 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 (1, 1) (1, 2) (1, 3) (1, 4) (1, 5) (1, 6)

2 (2, 1) (2, 2) (2, 3) (2, 4) (2, 5) (2, 6)

3 (3, 1) (3, 2) (3, 3) (3, 4) (3, 5) (3, 6)

4 (4, 1) (4, 2) (4, 3) (4, 4) (4, 5) (4, 6)

5 (5, 1) (5, 2) (5, 3) (5, 4) (5, 5) (5, 6)

6 (6, 1) (6, 2) (6, 3) (6, 4) (6, 5) (6, 6)

Total number of possible outcome n (S) = 36

(i) Let, event A : The total of the numbers on the dice is 8.

The set of favourable cases of event A : { (2,6), (6, 2), (4, 4), (3,5), (5, 3) }

The number of favourable cases of event A, n(A) = 5

𝑛 (𝐴)
Therefore, the probability, P(A) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

5
= 36

(ii) Let, event B : The first die show 6.

The set of favourable cases of event B : { (6,1), (6, 2), (6, 3), (6,4), (6, 5), (6, 6) }

The number of favourable cases of event B, n(B) = 6

𝑛 (𝐵)
Therefore, the probability, P(B) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

6
= 36

1
=6

(iii) Let, event C : Both dice show the same number.

The set of favourable cases of event C: { (1,1), (2, 2), (3, 3), (4, 4), (5,5), (6, 6) }

The number of favourable cases of event C, n(C) = 6

𝑛 (𝐶)
Therefore, the probability, P(C) = 𝑛 (𝑆)

6
= 36

1
= 6

Problem 6:

Suppose 35% of the students failed in English, 25% of the students failed in statistics and
15% of the students failed in both English and statistics. A student is selected at random.

(i) If he failed in statistics, estimate the probability that he failed in English?

(ii) If he failed English, estimate is the probability that he failed in statistics?
(iii) Calculate the probability that he failed in English or statistics?

Solution:

Let us define two events E and S as follows :

E = The students who failed in English

S = The students who failed in statistics

It is given that,

P(E) = 35% =0.35

P(S) = 25% = 0.25

P(EꓵS) = 15% = 0.15

(i)

The probability that a student failed in English, given that he was failed in statistics is,

𝑃(𝐸∩𝑆)
P(E|S) =
𝑃(𝑆)

0.15
= 0.25

= 0.6

(ii)

The probability that a student failed in statistics, given that he was failed in English is

𝑃(𝑆∩𝐸)
P(S|E) = 𝑃(𝐸)

0.15
= 0.35

= 0.4286

(iv) The probability that a student failed in English or statistics is –

P(Eꓴ S) = P(E) + P(S) - P(EꓵS)

 = 0.35 +.25 - 0. 15

= 0.45

Problem 7:

Of 1000 assembled components, 10 have a working defect and 20 have a structural defect.
There is a good reason to assume that no component has both defects. What is the
probability that randomly chosen component will have either type of defect?

Solution:

Let us define the events A and B as follows :

A : The component has working defect

B : The component has structural defect.

From the information we have,

10
P(A) = 1000 = 0.01,

20
P(B) = 1000 = 0.02,

P(AꓵB) = 0

Then the required probability,

P(A ꓴ B) = P(A) + P(B)

= 0.01 + 0.02

= 0.03

Problem 8:
1 1 1
Two events such that , P(A) = 2 and P(B) = 3 and P(A|B) = 4 . Find P(A ꓴ B) and P(A ꓵ
B).
Solution:
1 1 1
Here, P(A) = 2 and P(B) = 3 and P(A|B) = 4

𝑃(𝐴∩𝐵)
We know, P(A|B) = 𝑃(𝐵)

Then, P(AꓵB) = P(A|B) P(B)

1 1
= .3
4

1
=
12

Again we know,

P(AꓴB) = P(A) +P(B) – P(AꓵB)

1 1 1
=2 + -
3 12

3
=4

Problem 9:

A candidate is selected for interview of management trainees for 3 companies. For the first
companies there are 12 candidates, for the second there are 15 candidates, and for the
third there are 10 candidates. What are the chances of his getting job at least one of the
company?

Solution:

P( The candidate will get job in at least one of the company)=1-P(he will not get job in any
company)

P(1)+P(2)+P(3)=1-P(0)
1 11
P(the candidate will not get job in the 1st company) = 1− = 12
12
 1 14
P(the candidate will not get job in the 2nd company) = 1− 15 = 15

1 9
P(the candidate will not get job in the 3rd company) = 1− 10 = 10

Since the events are independent. So the probability of not getting job is also independent.
11 14 9
P (the candidate will not get job in any company) = 12 . 15 . 10 = 0.77

Again, P( The candidate will get job in at least one of the company) =1- P(he will not get job
in any company)=1-0.77=0.23

So, there is 23% chance that the candidate will get job in at least one of the companies.

Problem 10 :

A study showed that 65% of managers had some business education and 50% had some
engineering education. Furthermore, 45% of the managers had some business education
and some engineering education. What is the probability that a manager has some business
education, given that he has some engineering education?

Solution:

Let, A= a manager has some business education

B= a manager has some engineering education

P(A)=0.65 and P(B)=0.50

P(A ∩ B) = 0.45

We know,

𝑃(𝐴∩𝐵) 0.45
P(A|B) = = = 0.9
𝑃(𝐵) 0.50

There is 90% chance that a manager has business education given that he has some
engineering education.

or

So, the probability that a manager has some business education, given that he has some
engineering education is 0.90.
 Problem 11:

Two factories manufacture the same machine part. Each part is classified having either 0,1,2
or 3 manufacturing defects. The joint probability distribution for this is given below:

Number of defects

0 1 2 3

Manufacturer A 0.1250 0.0625 0.1875 0.1250

Manufacturer B 0.0625 0.0625 0.1250 0.2500

i) A part is observed to have no defects. What is the probability that it was produced by
manufacturer A?

ii) A part is known to have been produced by manufacturer A. What is probability that the part
has no defects?

iii) A part is known to have two or more defects. What is probability that it was manufactured
by A?

iv) A part is known to have one or more defects. What is the probability that it was
manufactured by B?

Solution:

Number of defects

0 1 2 3 Total

Manufacturer A 0.1250 0.0625 0.1875 0.1250 .5

Manufacturer B 0.0625 0.0625 0.1250 0.2500 .5

Total 0.1875 0.1250 0.3125 0.3750 1.00

 𝑃( 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠) 0.125
(i) P( A| No defect) = = = 0.6667
𝑃( 𝑁𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡) .1875
𝑃( 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠) 0.125
(ii) P( No defect |A) = = = 0.2500
𝑃( 𝐴) .5
𝑃( 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠) .1875+ .1250
(iii) P(A | Two or more defects) = = = 0.4545
𝑃( 𝑇𝑤𝑜 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠) 0.6875
𝑃( 𝐵 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠) .0625+.1250+.250
(iv) P(B | one or more defects) = = =
𝑃( 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑠) 0.8125
0.5385

Problem 12:

An electrical system consists of four components. The system works if the components A
and B work and either of the components C or D work. The reliability (Probability of
working) of each component is also shown in the figure. Find the probability that i) The
entire system works ii) the components C does not work given that the entire system
works. Assume that all four components work independently.

P( A works ) = 0.9

P( B works ) = 0.9, P( C works ) = 0.8, P( D works ) = 0.8

Solution:

P(entire system work)=P(A ∩ B ∩ (C ∪ D))

=P(A) × P(B) × P(C ∪ D)

= P(A) × P(B) × {P(C) + P(D) − P(C ∩ D)}

= P(A) × P(B) × {P(C) + P(D) − P(C) × P(D)}

=0.9×0.9×{0.8+0.8-0.8×0.8}

=0.7776

ii)

P(System C does not work |The entire system work)

𝑝( 𝑆𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝐶 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠)

= 𝑃( 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠)
 𝑃(𝐴∩𝐵∩𝐶ʹꓵD)
= 0.7776

𝑃(𝐴)𝑃(𝐵)(1−𝑃(𝐶))𝑃(𝐷)
= 0.7776

0.9×0.9×(1−0.8)×0.8
= = 0.1667
0.7776

###Example- 2.31, 2.34 (a),(b), 2.35, 2.39 (Probability & Statistics for Engineers &
Scientists- Ronald E. Walpole)