Chapter 1
Algebra
Course: Sat Prep
Subject: Math
Chapter: Problem Solving And Data Analysis
Probability is a branch of mathematics that measures the likelihood that an event will occur. Every day, people make decisions based on probability, whether predicting tomorrow's weather, assessing investment risks, evaluating medical treatments, or determining the chances of winning a game. Rather than describing events with words such as unlikely or very likely, probability assigns a numerical value that represents the likelihood of an outcome.
Probability values range from 0 to 1, where a probability of 0 represents an impossible event and a probability of 1 represents a certain event. Many probabilities are also expressed as fractions, decimals, or percentages. For example, a probability of , 0.5, and 50% all represent the same likelihood.
Every probability experiment consists of three important ideas:
- An experiment is an activity with uncertain outcomes, such as tossing a coin or rolling a die.
- An outcome is one possible result of the experiment.
- An event is one or more outcomes of interest.