Probability+-+Independent+Events

=Probability: Independent Events= Life is full of random events! You need to get a "feel" for them to be a smart and successful person. The toss of a coin, throwing dice and lottery draws are all examples of random events. Sometimes an event can affect the next event. Example: taking colored marbles from a bag: as you take each marble there are less marbles left in the bag, so the probabilities change. We call those **Dependent Events**, because what happens **depends on** what happened before (learn more about this at [|Conditional probability]). But otherwise they are **Independent Events** ...

Independent Events
A coin does not "know" it came up heads before ... .... each toss of a coin is a perfect isolated thing. || || Example: You toss a coin and it comes up "Heads" three times ... what is the chance that **the next toss** will also be a "Head"? What it did in the past will not affect the current toss! Some people think "it is overdue for a Tail", but //really truly// the next toss of the coin is totally independent of any previous tosses. Saying "a Tail is due", or "just one more go, my luck is due" is called **The Gambler's Fallacy** Of course your luck **may** change, because each toss of the coin has an equal chance.
 * Independent Events are **not affected** by previous events.
 * This is an important idea!**
 * The chance is simply 1/2 (or 0.5) just like ANY toss of the coin.**

Probability of Independent Events
"Probability" (or "Chance") is **how likely** something is to happen. So how do we calculate probability?
 * Probability of an event happening = ||  || Number of ways it can happen ||
 * ^  ||^   || Total number of outcomes ||
 * ^  ||^   || Total number of outcomes ||



Example: what is the probability of getting a "Head" when tossing a coin?

 * Number of ways it can happen: 1** (Head)
 * Total number of outcomes: 2** (Head and Tail)
 * So the probability = || 1 || = 0.5 ||
 * ^  || 2 ||^   ||
 * ^  || 2 ||^   ||

Example: what is the probability of getting a "5" or "6" when rolling a die?

 * Number of ways it can happen: 2** ("5" and "6")
 * Total number of outcomes: 6** ("1", "2", "3", "4", "5" and "6")
 * So the probability = || 2 || = || 1 || = 0.333... ||
 * ^  || 6 ||^   || 3 ||^   ||
 * ^  || 6 ||^   || 3 ||^   ||

Ways of Showing Probability
[|Probability] goes from **0** (imposssible) to **1** (certain): It is often shown as a **decimal** or **fraction**. Example: the probability of getting a "Head" when tossing a coin:
 * As a decimal: **0.5**
 * As a fraction: **1/2**
 * As a percentage: **50%**
 * Or sometimes like this: **1-in-2**

Two or More Events
You can calculate the chances of two or more independent events by **multiplying** the chances.

Example: Probability of 3 Heads in a Row
For each toss of a coin a "Head" has a probability of 0.5: And so the chance of getting 3 Heads in a row is **0.125**

Notation
We use "P" to mean "Probability Of", So, for Independent Events: P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B) Probability of A and B equals the probability of A times the probability of B

Example: you are going to a concert, and your friend says it is some time on the weekend between 4 and 12, but won't say more.
What are the chances it is on Sunday between 10 and 12?

And: Or a 12.5% chance
 * Day:** there are two days on the weekend, so **P(Sunday) = 0.5**
 * Time:** between 4 and 12 is 8 hours, but you want between 10 and 12 which is only 2 hours:
 * P(Your Time) = 2/8 = 0.25**
 * P(Sunday and Your Time)** = P(Sunday) × P(Your Time) = 0.5 × 0.25 = **0.125**

Another Example
Imagine there are two groups: What is your chance of winnning the big prize? So you have a 1/5 chance followed by a 1/2 chance ... which makes a 1/10 chance overall: Or you can calculate using decimals (1/5 is 0.2, and 1/2 is 0.5): 0.2 x 0.5 = **0.1** So your chance of winning the big money is **0.1** (which is the same as 1/10).
 * A member of each group gets randomly chosen for the winners circle,
 * **then** one of those gets randomly chosen to get the big money prize:
 * there is a **1/5 chance** of going to the winners circle
 * and a **1/2 chance** of winning the big prize
 * 1 || × || 1 || = || 1 || = || 1 ||
 * 5 ||^  || 2 ||^   || 5 × 2 ||^   || 10 ||
 * 5 ||^  || 2 ||^   || 5 × 2 ||^   || 10 ||

Coincidence!
Many "Coincidences" are, in fact, likely.

Example: you are in a room with 30 people, and find that Zach and Anna celebrate their birthday on the same day.
Would you say "wow, how strange", or "that seems reasonable, with so many people here". In fact there is a **70% chance** that would happen... so it is **likely**. Because you are comparing everyone to everyone else (not just one to many). And with 30 people that is **435 comparisons** ||
 * [[image:http://www.mathsisfun.com/data/images/probability-many-many.gif width="123" height="125"]] || Why is the chance so high?

Example: Snap!
Did you ever say something **the same as someone else**, at the same time too? Wow, how amazing! And there are only so many ways of saying something ... ... so it is like the card game "Snap!" ... ... if you speak enough words together, they will eventually match up. So, maybe not so amazing, just simple chance at work. Can you think of other cases where a "coincidence" was simply a likely thing?
 * But** you were probably sharing an experience (movie, journey, whatever) and so your thoughts would be similar.

Conclusion

 * Probability is: (Number of ways it can happen) / (Total number of outcomes)
 * Dependent Events (such as removing marbles from a bag) are affected by previous events
 * Independent events (such as a coin toss) are **not** affected by previous events
 * You can calculate the probability of 2 or more **Independent** events by **multiplying**
 * Not all coincidences are really unlikely (when you think about them).

=Reference=

@http://www.mathsisfun.com