Addition Rule of Probability and Expected Frequency
Learn how to add probabilities for mutually exclusive events using P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B). Let’s get started! 🚀

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🛎️ What Are Equiprobable Events?
- Equiprobable events are events with the same chance of happening.
- When rolling a fair die, each number has an equal probability of 1/6.
🛎️ Calculating Probability: Single Event
- Probability equals number of favourable outcomes ÷ total outcomes.
- For example, drawing a blue ball from 50 balls with 25 blue gives 25/50 = 50%.
🛎️ Probability of “OR” Events
- Use OR when either event can happen.
- Add the favourable outcomes for each event, then divide by the total outcomes.
🛎️ Addition Rule for Probability
- Mutually exclusive events cannot happen at the same time.
- For example, a ball cannot be red and blue at the same time.
- When events are mutually exclusive, use P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B).
🛎️ Expected Absolute Frequency
- Expected absolute frequency is how often an event is expected to happen.
- It equals probability × number of trials.
- It is an estimate, so what actually happens can vary.
Practice Questions
Test your understanding
In a bag with 50 balls, there are 25 blue, 15 red, and 10 yellow balls. What is the probability of drawing a yellow ball?
Correct! 🎉 +10 pointsNot quite right
There are 10 yellow balls out of a total of 50. The probability of drawing a yellow ball is , which simplifies to .
If you roll a fair six-sided die, what is the probability of rolling either a 2 or a 6?
Correct! 🎉 +10 pointsNot quite right
There are two favourable outcomes (rolling a 2 or a 6) out of 6 possible outcomes. The probability is , which simplifies to .
A box contains 15 red, 5 blue, and 10 green marbles. What is the probability of drawing a red or green marble?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The number of red and green marbles is . The total number of marbles is 30. The probability is , which simplifies to .
A bag contains 6 red, 4 blue, and 2 yellow marbles. What is the probability of drawing a yellow or blue marble?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The number of yellow and blue marbles is . The total number of marbles is 12. The probability is , which simplifies to .
You roll a fair die 60 times. How many times would you expect to roll a 3?
Correct! 🎉 +20 pointsNot quite right
The probability of rolling a 3 on a fair die is . Over 60 rolls, the expected number of times is .
You roll a fair die 120 times. How many times would you expect to roll a number less than 3?
Correct! 🎉 +30 pointsNot quite right
The numbers less than 3 are 1 and 2, giving a probability of , which simplifies to . Over 120 rolls, the expected number is .
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Addition rule of probability
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