Topics covered within this unit: 6.1 Introduction to probability
6.2 Calculate the probability of a single event
6.3 The fundamental principle of counting
The Learning Outcomes covered in this unit are contained in the following sections:
SP.1a SP.1b SP.2a N.5a N.5b
Key words Probability
Event Experiment Trial Outcome
Fundamental principal of counting Sample space Two-way table Tree diagram
Probability 1
Something to think about …
The Truly Scrumptious ice cream shop has a half-price sundae special. Customers can get one of 10 fl avours, one of 4 syrups and one of 60 toppings on their ice cream sundae.
(i) How many possible sundae combinations can be made?
(ii)
If it takes 6 minutes to create one ice cream sundae, how many minutes would it take to create all possible combinations?
(iii) Convert the total time taken in minutes to days. 6.1 Introduction to probability
By the end of this section you should: ● understand that probability is a measure on a scale of 0–1 of how likely an event is to occur
● be able to use the language of probability to discuss events
In Unit 2, we looked at how to calculate the chance of something happening. Complete the revision question below to remind yourself of the concept of chance.
Revision question
The Venn diagram shows the number of students who play rugby (R) or tennis (T). Use the information on the diagram to answer the questions.
A student was picked at random. What is the chance that the student played …?
(i) both tennis and rugby (ii) rugby only (iii) neither tennis nor rugby Give your answers as a fraction, a decimal and a percentage.