Probability is the Likelihood, or chance, that an event will occur, often expressed as odds, or in mathematics, numerically as a fraction or decimal.

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Probability  

Probability is the Likelihood, or chance, that an event will occur, often expressed as odds, or in

mathematics, numerically as a fraction or decimal.

        In general, the probability that n  particular events will happen out of a total of m possible

events is n/m. A certainty has a probability of 1; an impossibility has a probability of 0. Empirical

probability is defined as the number of successful events divided by the total possible number of

events.

        In tossing a coin, the chance that it will land `heads´ is the same as the chance that it will land

`tails´, that is, 1 to 1 or even; mathematically, this  probability is expressed as 1/2 or 0.5. The odds

against any chosen number coming up on the roll of a fair die are 5 to 1; the probability is 1/6 or 0.1666...

. If two dice are rolled there are 6 ´ 6 = 36 different possible combinations. The  probability of a double

(two numbers the same) is 6/36 or 1/6 since there are six doubles in the 36 events: (1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4),

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(5,5), and (6,6).

        Independent events are those which do not affect each other, for example rolling two dice are

independent events, as the rolling of the first die does not effect the outcome of the rolling of the

second die. If events are described as mutually exclusive it means that if one happens, then it prevents

the other from happening. So tossing a coin is a mutually exclusive event as it can result in a head or a

tail but not both. The sum of the probabilities of mutually exclusive events is ...

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