PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
 Identify the meaning of probability;
 determine various formula in getting the probability; and
 appreciate the probability and statistics in real life.

OVERVIEW
Probability and statistics are related areas of mathematics which concern
themselves with analyzing the relative frequency of events. Probability deals with
predicting the likelihood of future events, while statistics involves the analysis of the
frequency of past events. Probability is primarily a theoretical branch of mathematics,
which studies the consequences of mathematical definitions. Statistics is primarily an
applied branch of mathematics, which tries to make sense of observations in the real
world.
Probability deals with predicting the likelihood of future events, while statistics
involves the analysis of the frequency of past events. Probability is primarily a
theoretical branch of mathematics, which studies the consequences of mathematical
definitions.
COURSE MATERIAL
What is PROBABILITY?
Probability – is a field of mathematics that deals with chance.
– is used to describe how likely or unlikely it is that something will happen.
TERMINOLOGIES :
Experiment – is an activity in which the results cannot be predicted with certainty. Each
repetition of an experiment is called a trial.
Outcome – is a result of an experiment
Event – is any collection of outcomes, and a simple event is an event with only one
possible outcomes.
Sample space– is a set that contains all possible outcomes of the experiment. In any
experiment, the probability of an event occuring is given by the formula.
The sample space for the experiment in throwing a die
Sample space
= {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

Probability of an event
P€ = number of favorable outcomes
Number of possible outcomes

Example 1. Alex thrown a coin 3 times. What is the probability that at least one head is
obtained?

a. The sample space = [HHH, HHT, HTH, THH, TTH, THT, HTT, TTT]
N (sample space) = 8
b. The probability of getting a head
P(head) = n (head)
N (sample space)
P(head) = 7/8

Example 2. A box contains 10 white and 5 red balls. What is the probability that it is
red?
S(red)= 5
S(white)= 10
N(S) = 15
P( red)=5/15 or 1/3
P(white) = 10/15 or 2/3

Example 3. What would be the probability of

b. Find the probability that it is a face card (e.i king, queen or jack)?

P(face) = n(face card)

Addition Rule
P(A+B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A and B)
P(A+ B) = P(A) + P (B)

c. Queen or Heart?
Sample space = 52
N(Queen) = 4
N(Heart) = 13
N(Queen or Heart) =
P(Q+H) = P(Q) + P(H) – P(Q and H)
P(Q+H) =

What is STATISTICS?
Statistics – is a branch of applied mathematics that involves the collection, description,
analysis, and inference of conclusions from quantitative data.

Example of STATISTICS:
Find the Mean, Median, and Mode
In the following sets of data, find the mean, median, and mode, and then explain which
measure is most appropriate given the data and circumstances.

Data Set #1
Your class recently took a test on the latest chapter in your book. Your teacher
writes the different scores on the whiteboard so you can see how your score compares
to others from your class. Your score is a 79. How does your score compare to those of
your classmates? Find the mean, median, and mode with the following set of data. Then
explain which measure of central tendency seems to be the most accurate.

82, 66, 70, 59, 90, 78, 76, 95, 99, 84, 88, 76, 82, 81, 91, 64, 79, 76, 85, 90

Answer:
Mean: 80.55
Median: 81.5
Mode: 76

Explanation: In this case, either the median or the mode would be the most accurate
measure. The mode seems to be a bit lower than the other two measures. Although this
score occurred the most often, it does not provide an accurate measure of how the
class did as a whole.
Data Set #2
You decide to take an 11-day vacation to Berlin, Germany. Since you are interested
in weather, you decide to keep track of the high temperature each day while you are
there. At the end of the trip, you look at your data. Find the mean, median, and mode
with the following set of data. Then explain which measure of central tendency seems to
be the most accurate.

85, 91, 84, 87, 88, 95, 79, 88, 86, 89, 82

Answers:
Mean: 86.73
Median: 87
Mode: 88

Explanation: Since the mean, median, and mode are quite similar and there aren’t any
major outliers, all three of these measures would be suitable and appropriate.

Example 2.
Determine what the key terms refer to in the following study.
An insurance company would like to determine the proportion of all medical
doctors who have been involved in one or more malpractice lawsuits. The company
selects 500 doctors at random from a professional directory and determines the number
in the sample who have been involved in a malpractice lawsuit.
Answer
 The population is all medical doctors listed in the professional directory.
 The parameter is the proportion of medical doctors who have been involved in
one or more malpractice suits in the population.
 The sample is the 500 doctors selected at random from the professional
directory.
 The statistic is the proportion of medical doctors who have been involved in one
or more malpractice suits in the sample.
 The variable XX = the number of medical doctors who have been involved in one
or more malpractice suits.
 The data are either: yes, was involved in one or more malpractice lawsuits, or no,
was not.
Activity
Determine what the key terms refer to in the following study.

A study was conducted at a local college to analyze the average cumulative GPA’s of
students who graduated last year. Fill in the letter of the phrase that best describes
each of the items below.
1._____ Population
2._____ Statistic
3._____ Parameter
4._____ Sample
5._____ Variable
6._____ Data

Choices:
a. All students who attended the college last year
b. The cumulative GPA of one student who graduated from the college last year
c. 3.65, 2.80, 1.50, 3.90
d. A group of students who graduated from the college last year, randomly selected
e. The average cumulative GPA of students who graduated from the college last
year
f. All students who graduated from the college last year
g. The average cumulative GPA of students in the study who graduated from the
college last year
7. Find the mean, and median
3, 13, 11, 15, 5, 4, 2

Answer key
1. f
2. g
3. e
4. d
5. b
6. c
7. Mean – 7.57
Median – 5