Definitions [6]
Independent events:
A set of events is said to be independent if the occurrence of any one of them does not, in any way, affect the occurrence of any other in the set.
Dependent events:
Two events E and F are said to be dependent if they are not independent, i.e. if \[\mathrm{P}(\mathrm{E}\cap\mathrm{F})\neq\mathrm{P}(\mathrm{E}).\mathrm{P}(\mathrm{F})\]
Mean µ (Greek mu) of the above probability distribution may be defined as
\[\mu=\frac{p_1x_1+p_2x_2+p_3x_3+.......+p_nx_n}{p_1+p_2+p_3+......+p_n}\]
\[=\frac{\sum p_ix_i}{\sum p_i}=\Sigma p_ix_i\]
\[Mean\overline{x}=\sum_{i=1}^{n}p_{i}x_{i}\],where each pi \[P_{i}\geq0\] and \[\sum p_{i}=p_{1}+p_{2}+...+p_{n}=1\]
Statement:
Let p be the probability of success of an event and q be the probability of failure of the event in one trial. Suppose there are n trials of the event in a binomial experiment, then the binomial probability distribution is defined by the following table:
| Number of successes X | 0 | 1 | 2 | ...r | ...n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probability P(X) | qn | nC1pqn−1 | nC2p2qn−2 | ...nCrprqn−r | ...pn |
Trials of a random experiment are called Bernoulli’s trials if they satisfy the following conditions:
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The number of trials is finite.
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Each trial is independent of the others.
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Each trial has exactly two outcomes: success or failure.
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The probability of success (or failure) remains the same in each trial.
If a random variable x can take values x1, x2,…, xn with probabilities p(x1) ,p(x2),…, p(xn) such that p(x1) + p(x2) +… + p(xn) = 1, the function p is called the probability density function of x and is said to define the probability distribution of x.
Random variable:
A random variable is a variable whose values depend on chance and are the result of a random observation or experiment.
Discrete random variable:
If the set of values taken by a random variable can be counted and listed, it is called a discrete random variable.
Continuous Random Variable:
If the set of values is continuous, the variable is called a continuous random variable.
Formulae [5]
\[\begin{gathered}
\mu=\int_{-\infty}^{\infty}xf(x)dx \\
\sigma^2=\int_{-\infty}^\infty(x-\mu)^2f(x)dx
\end{gathered}\]
\[\sigma=\sqrt{\sigma^2}=\sqrt{\sum p_ix_i^2-\mu^2}\]
General Form: \[P(X=r)={}^nC_rp^rq^{n-r},\quad r=0,1,2,\ldots,n\]
Mean: μ = np
Variance: σ2 = npq
Standard deviation: \[\sigma=\sqrt{npq}\]
The variance of a random variable x is denoted by σ2.
First form: \[\sigma^2=\sum_{i=1}^np_i(x_i-\mu)^2\]
Second form: \[\sigma^2=\sum_{i=1}^np_ix_i^2-\mu^2\]
Theorems and Laws [1]
Statement:
Let S be the sample space and E1, E2,…, En be mutually exclusive and exhaustive events associated with a random experiment. Let A be any event associated with S. Then,
\[P(A)=P(E_1)P(A\mid E_1)+P(E_2)P(A\mid E_2)+\cdots+P(E_n)P(A\mid E_n)\]
or
\[P(A)=\sum P(E_i)P(A\mid E_i)\]
Key Points
| Type of Event | Meaning / Condition | Probability Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Event | Single outcome | \[P(A)=\frac{\text{favourable}}{\mathrm{total}}\] |
| Compound Event | More than one outcome | Depends on the situation |
| Mutually Exclusive Events | Cannot occur together | \[P(A\cup B)=P(A)+P(B)\] |
| Not Mutually Exclusive (Inclusive) | Can occur together | \[P(A\cup B)=P(A)+P(B)-P(A\cap B)\] |
| Exhaustive Events | Cover the entire sample space | \[P(A\cup B)=1\] |
| Complementary Events | One is NOT the other | \[P(A^{\prime})=1-P(A)\] |
| Event & Complement | Cannot occur together | P(A) + P(A') = 1 |
| At least one of A or B | A or B or both | \[P(A\cup B)\] |
| Neither A nor B | Neither occurs | \[P(A^{\prime}\cap B^{\prime})=1-P(A\cup B)\] |
| Breaking Event A | Using B & B′ | \[P(A)=P(A\cap B)+P(A\cap B^{\prime})\] |
| Breaking Event B | Using A & A′ | \[P(B)=P(A\cap B)+P(A^{\prime}\cap B)\] |
| Step | What to do | form |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find the probability of the first event | P(A) |
| 2 | Find the probability of the second event after the first | P(B|A) |
| 3 | Multiply | \[P(A\cap B)=P(A)P(B\mid A)\] |
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Probabilities are terms of (q + p)n.
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P(0) + P(1) + ⋯ + P(n) = 1.
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The binomial distribution is discrete.
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n and p are its parameters.
Special cases:
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P(0) = qn
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P(1) = npqn−1
| Type | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Prior probabilities | \[P(E_1),P(E_2),\ldots,P(E_n)\] |
| Likelihood probabilities | \[P(A\mid E_1),P(A\mid E_2),\ldots\] |
| Posterior probabilities | \[P(E_1\mid A),P(E_2\mid A),\ldots\] |
