Module 3: Probability Topics (Chapter 3)
Section outline
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It is often necessary to "guess" about the outcome of an event in order to make a decision. Politicians study polls to guess their likelihood of winning an election. Teachers choose a particular course of study based on what they think students can comprehend. Doctors choose the treatments needed for various diseases based on their assessment of likely results. You may have visited a casino where people play games chosen because of the belief that the likelihood of winning is good. You may have chosen your course of study based on the probable availability of jobs.
You have, more than likely, used probability. In fact, you probably have an intuitive sense of probability. Probability deals with the chance of an event occurring. Whenever you weigh the odds of whether or not to do your homework or to study for an exam, you are using probability. In this chapter, you will learn how to solve probability problems using a systematic approach.
Image Caption: Meteor showers are rare, but the probability of them occurring can be calculated. (credit: Navicore/flickr)
(Content & Image Source: Chapter 3 Introduction, Introductory Statistics, Barbara Illowsky and Susan Dean, OpenStax, CC BY 4.0 License)
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:3.1 Terminology- Define and use common probability terms
- Compute probabilities for common experiments with equally likely outcomes
- Combine events and compute the resulting probabilities
- Compute conditional probabilities
3.2 Independent and Mutually Exclusive Events- Identify two events as mutually exclusive, or not
- Identify two events as independent, or not
- Use the relationships between events to compute probabilities
3.3 Two Basic Rules of Probability- state and apply the multiplication rule to any two events
- state and apply the multiplication rule for independent events
- state and apply the addition rule for any two events
- state and apply the addition rule for mutually exclusive events
3.4 Contingency Tables- Use a given contingency table to compute probabilities
- Complete a contingency table given starting information about a sample
3.5 Tree and Venn Diagrams- Use tree diagrams to find probabilities for experiments with and without replacement
- Use Venn diagrams to visualize relationships between events
To achieve these objectives:- Read the Module 3 Introduction (see above).
- Read Sections 3.1 - 3.5 of Chapter 3: Probability Topics in Introductory Statistics (links to each Section provided below)
- Complete the MyOpenMath Homework Assignments for the topics in the Chapter (links provided below) - These are graded!
- View the Chapter 3 Review (link provided below)
- Practice the problems in the Chapter 3 Practice and Homework, checking the solutions provided (links to each provided below)
- Submit the Chapter 3 Project: Probability Topics (links to project and submission link provided below)
- Complete the MyOpenMath Quiz for Chapter 3 (link provided below) - This is graded!
- Once you complete the Quiz, upload your work in the Quiz Work Upload Assignment using the submission link below.
- Post in the Chapter 3 Q&A Discussion Forum - link provided below.
Note the check boxes to the right that help you track your progress: some are automatic, and some are manual.Module Pressbooks Resources and Activities
You will find the following resources and activities in this module at the Pressbooks website. Click on the links below to access or complete each item.
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