Topic 2 - Probability

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Defining Probability

Participation Question 📊

 

Suppose you roll two fair six-sided dice. How many possible outcomes are there for rolling the two dice?

 

Answer the question at PollEv.com/erinhowardstats

Example

Suppose you roll two fair six-sided dice. How many possible outcomes are there for rolling the two dice?

Sample space: the set of all possible outcomes

Probability

The proportion of times an outcome would occur if we observed the random process an infinite number of times.

\[P(A) = \frac{\text{the number of ways A can occur}}{\text{the number of total possible outcomes}}\]

Participation Question 📊

 

Suppose you roll two fair six-sided dice. What is the probability that the sum of the two dice is 7?

 

Answer the question at PollEv.com/erinhowardstats

Probability Distribution

All possible outcomes and their probabilities.

\(x\) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
\(P(X=x)\)

 

Rules for Probability Distributions

  1. Outcomes must be disjoint.

  2. Probabilities must be between 0 and 1, inclusive.

  3. The sum of all probabilities in the distribution must be 1.

Law of Large Numbers

As more observations are collected for a random process, the proportion of an outcome converges to the theoretical/true probability of that outcome.

 

 

Law of Large Numbers Simulation in Week 2 Slides & Additional Materials page

Complement

The complement of event A is the set of all outcomes in the sample space that don’t contain A.

 

 

\(P(A') = 1-P(A)\)

Participation Question 📊

Suppose you roll two fair six-sided dice. Let A represent the event that neither die rolled shows an odd number. What is the complement of A?

 

Answer the question at PollEv.com/erinhowardstats

Intersection - “A and B”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\(P(A \text{ and } B) = P(A \cap B)\)

Disjoint Events

Also referred to as mutually exclusive events.

 

Events that can’t happen simultaneously.

 

\(P(A \text { and } B) = 0\)

Participation Question 📊

Consider rolling one fair six-sided die. Each option below describes two events that may occur when the die is rolled. Which pairs of events are disjoint?

a) Rolling an odd number and rolling a three.

b) Rolling an odd number and rolling an even number.

c) Rolling a prime number and rolling an even number.

d) Rolling a 4 and rolling a 5.

 

Answer the question at PollEv.com/erinhowardstats

Union - “A or B”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

\(P(A \text{ or } B) = P(A \cup B)\)

General Addition Rule

 

\(P(A \text{ or }B) =\)\(P(A) + P(B)\)\(-P(A \text{ and } B)\)

Participation Question 📊

Consider rolling one fair six-sided die. Let A = rolling an odd number and B = rolling a prime number. What is the probability of A or B occurring?

 

Answer the question at PollEv.com/erinhowardstats

Independent Events

Events are considered independent if the outcome of one event does not impact the outcome of the other.

 

Formal definition of independent events:

\(A\) and \(B\) are independent if and only if \(P(A \text{ and } B) = P(A)\times P(B)\).

OPTIONAL - Conditional Probabilities

Example

 

An aircraft emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is a device designed to transmit a signal in the case of a crash. Suppose there are only four manufacturers that produce all ELTs. We’ll call these manufacturers Companies W, X, Y, and Z.

 

Marginal Probabilities
Company W manufactures 60% of all ELTs. P(W)=0.6
Company X manufactures 20% of all ELTs. P(X)=0.2
Company Y manufactures 15% of all ELTs. P(Y)=0.15
Company Z manufactures 5% of all ELTs. P(Z)=0.05

Conditional Probability

\(A\) given \(B\)

\(P(A|B)=\)\(\frac{P(A \text{ and } B)}{P(B)}\)

 

Conditional probabilities redefine the sample space to only include outcomes that are in the conditional subset.

Example

 

An aircraft emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is a device designed to transmit a signal in the case of a crash. Suppose there are only four manufacturers that produce all ELTs. We’ll call these manufacturers Companies W, X, Y, and Z.

 

Conditional Probabilities
Of ELTs produced by Company W, 2% are defective. \(P(Def|W) = 0.02\)
Of ELTs produced by Company X, 2% are defective. \(P(Def|X) = 0.02\)
Of ELTs produced by Company Y, 4% are defective. \(P(Def|Y) = 0.04\)
Of ELTs produced by Company Z, 6% are defective. \(P(Def|Z) = 0.06\)

General Multiplication Rule

\(P(A \text{ and }B)=\)?

Recall the definition of a conditional probability:

\(P(A|B) = \frac{P(A \text{ and }B)}{P(B)}\)

Additionally,

\(P(B|A) = \frac{P(A \text{ and }B)}{P(A)}\)

Therefore,

\(P(A \text{ and }B)= P(A|B)P(B) = P(B|A)P(A)\)

Independent Events

Events are considered independent if the outcome of one event does not impact the outcome of the other.

\(P(A|B) = P(A)\) if and only if \(A\) and \(B\) are independent. \(P(B|A) = P(B)\) if and only if \(A\) and \(B\) are independent.

 

Apply the general multiplication rule to independent events: \(P(A \text{ and }B)= P(A|B)P(B) = P(A)P(B)\)

Formal definition of independent events:

\(A\) and \(B\) are independent if and only if \(P(A \text{ and } B) = P(A)\times P(B)\).

Example

Suppose an ELT has been randomly selected from the general population of all ELTs produced.

 

 

 

 

Each quadrant of the room has been assigned a company. Based on your assigned company, calculate the probability that the randomly selected ELT is from your company and is defective.

P(W) = 0.6 P(Def|W) = 0.02
P(X) = 0.2 P(Def|X) = 0.02
P(Y) = 0.15 P(Def|Y) = 0.04
P(Z) = 0.05 P(Def|Z) = 0.06

 

 

P(W and Def) = 0.6(0.02) = 0.012
P(X and Def) = 0.2(0.02) = 0.004
P(Y and Def) = 0.15(0.04) = 0.006
P(Z and Def) = 0.05(0.06) = 0.003

Example

P(W and Def) = 0.6(0.02) = 0.012
P(X and Def) = 0.2(0.02) = 0.004
P(Y and Def) = 0.15(0.04) = 0.006
P(Z and Def) = 0.05(0.06) = 0.003

The sum of the four values above yields the probability of what event?

The probability a randomly selected ELT from any of the four companies is defective, P(Def)

Calculate this probability. P(Def)=0.012+0.004+0.006+0.003=0.025

Law of Total Probability

The marginal probability of event \(A\) is equal to the sum of the probabilities of all disjoint events that contain \(A\).

\[P(A) = P(A \text{ and } B_1) + P(A \text{ and } B_2) + ... + P(A \text{ and } B_k)\]

where \(B_1, B_2, ..., B_k\) are disjoint events.

 

For example,

P(Def)=P(W and Def)+P(X and Def)+P(Y and Def)+P(Z and Def)

Example

Suppose we have randomly selected an ELT and found it to be defective. What is the probability the ELT was produced by company X?

 

\(P(X|Def)=\)\(\frac{P(X \text{ and } Def)}{P(W \text{ and } Def) + P(X \text{ and } Def) + P(Y \text{ and } Def) + P(Z \text{ and } Def)}\)

 

\(P(X|Def) = \frac{0.004}{0.025}\)\(=0.16\)

Bayes’ Theorem

Let \(B_1,B_2,...,B_k\) be disjoint events.

\(P(B_1|A) =\)\(\frac{P(B_1 \text{ and } A)}{P(A)}\)\(=\frac{P(A|B_1)P(B_1)}{P(A \text{ and } B_1) + P(A \text{ and } B_2) + ... + P(A \text{ and } B_k)}\)\(=\frac{P(A|B_1)P(B_1)}{P(A|B_1)P(B_1) + P(A|B_2)P(B_2) +...+ P(A|B_k)P(B_k)}\)

Bayes Theorem:

\(P(B_1|A) = \frac{P(A|B_1)P(B_1)}{P(A|B_1)P(B_1) + P(A|B_2)P(B_2) +...+ P(A|B_k)P(B_k)}\)