Probability practice

Choose the event before choosing the rule

Work through ten fixed probability problems that make the sample space, event relationship, and conditioning event visible before arithmetic begins.

Work through 10 checked problems

Complements, unions, intersections, conditioning, independence, counting, and binomial probability

Start question 1

Probability practice: 10 checked problems

Complements, unions, intersections, conditioning, independence, counting, and binomial probability

Question 1 of 101 of 10

Complements

Question 1

Find the probability that the bus is not late.

P(L)=0.63P(L)=0.63

Skills in this practice collection

  1. Foundation

    Partition a sample space

    Use complements and disjoint regions without losing or double-counting probability mass.

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  2. Developing

    Combine two events

    Distinguish union from intersection and use independence only when the context establishes it.

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  3. Multi-step

    Condition and count

    Restrict a sample space for conditional probability, handle without-replacement sequences, and count repeated-trial outcomes.

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See the expected explanation depth

A course has 0.55 probability of a student using the library, 0.40 probability of attending tutoring, and 0.20 probability of doing both. Find the probability of at least one activity.

P(L)=0.55,P(T)=0.40,P(LT)=0.20P(L)=0.55,\quad P(T)=0.40,\quad P(L\cap T)=0.20
  1. 1
    Translate at least one

    The target includes L only, T only, and both, so it is a union.

    P(LT)P(L\cup T)
  2. 2
    Remove duplicate overlap

    Adding the marginals counts both-activity students twice.

    P(LT)=0.55+0.400.20=0.75P(L\cup T)=0.55+0.40-0.20=0.75
  3. 3
    Check the Venn regions

    L-only 0.35, both 0.20, and T-only 0.20 are disjoint and total 0.75.

    0.35+0.20+0.20=0.750.35+0.20+0.20=0.75

Answer

P(LT)=0.75P(L\cup T)=0.75

Use mistakes to choose the next problem

Sort mistakes by translation, assumption, or arithmetic. Repeating a formula will not fix a misidentified event.

  1. First pass: name the event

    Write complement, union, intersection, or conditional before looking at numbers.

  2. Second pass: justify the relationship

    Circle words that establish independence, mutual exclusivity, replacement, or equal likelihood.

  3. Third pass: verify probability mass

    Check the 0-to-1 range, union bounds, inverse multiplication, or direct outcome count.

Choose the event before choosing the rule FAQ

How do I know whether to add or multiply probabilities?

The word or usually points to a union and the general addition rule. The word and points to an intersection and the multiplication rule. Multiplying two marginal probabilities is valid only when the relevant events are independent.

Why is independence not the same as mutually exclusive?

Independent events leave each other's probabilities unchanged and may occur together. Mutually exclusive events have intersection zero; if both have positive probability, occurrence of one changes the other to impossible.

What should I use as the denominator in conditional probability?

Use the probability or count of the event after the vertical bar. P(A given B) looks only inside B, so P(B) or the count in B is the denominator.

When is a binomial formula appropriate?

Use it for a fixed number of independent trials, two classified outcomes per trial, and one constant success probability. Without replacement usually breaks the constant-probability condition unless the model explicitly approximates it.

Sources and curriculum alignment

This page follows standard introductory mathematics notation and learning sequences. Use these references to continue with a complete course treatment.

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Created by Mathos AI. Methods, conditions, and checks are shown so you can review the mathematical reasoning.