MATH

Module 1

COUNTING
TECHNIQUES
COUNTING TECHNIQUES-probability is primarily concerned with
predicting chances, especially the occurrence of an event. Any
probability activity, called an experiment, gives results which are also
known as outcomes

Tree Diagram- is a graphic organizer that make use of branching

connecting lines to represent a certain relationship between events
Example: The outcomes when tossing two coins in succession.

First coin second coin possible outcomes

H HH
H (head)
T HT
H TH
T (tail)
T TT

-Tree diagram of outcomes when tossing two coins

 Example Number:

You are off to soccer, and love being the Goalkeeper, but that depends who is
the Coach today:

 with Coach Sam the probability of being Goalkeeper is 0.5

 with Coach Alex the probability of being Goalkeeper is 0.3

Sam is Coach more often ... about 6 out of every 10 games (a probability
of 0.6).

0.5 Yes 0.6 × 0.5 = 0.3

Sam

0.6 0.5 No 0.6 × 0.5 = 0.3

0.4 0.3 Yes 0.4 × 0.3 = 0.12

Alex

0.7 No 0.4 × 0.7 = 0.28

0.3 + 0.3 + 0.12 + 0.28 = 1

FUNDAMENTAL COUNTING PRINCIPLE
a way to figure out the number of outcomes in a probability
problem. Basically, you multiply the events together to get the total
number of outcomes.

Example:
Outfit Selection: Suppose you have 3 tops, 3 pairs of pants, and 2 pair of
shoes.
T1 T2

P1 P2 P3 P1 P2 P3

S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2

T2

P1 P2 P3

S1 S2 S1 S2 S1 S2
Tree diagram of the 18 outfits
Factorial Notation
As the product of all the positive integers less than or equal to n.
In symbols, it is written as n!. For example, 5! = 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1
Example: Evaluate the following factorial notations.
9!
a. 3! d.
6!
b. 6! e. 0!
c. 8!

Solution:
a. 3! = 3 × 2 × 1 = 6
b. 6! = 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 720
c. 8! = 8 × 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 40320
9! 9×8×7×6!
d. = = 9×8×7 = 504
6! 6!
e. 0! = 1

Permutation
The arrangement of objects in a set-in order is called permutation.
Example:

A four-digit code could be anything between 0000 to 9999, hence

there are 10,000 combinations if every digit could be used more than one
time but since we are told in the question that one digit only may be used
once it limits our number of combinations.

P(n,r)=10!(10−4)!=10⋅9⋅8⋅7⋅6⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅16⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅1=5040
𝑛!
Formula: P(n,r)= (𝑛−𝑟)!
Permutation of n Distinct Objects
𝒏!
Taken r at a time: nPr = (𝒏−𝒓)!

Taken n at a time: nPr = n!

Example: In how many ways can you arrange 8 books on a shelf if:
a. Only 5 books can fit at a time?
b. All the 8 books can fit at a time?
Solution:
𝟖! 𝟖! 𝟖×𝟕×𝟔×𝟓×𝟒×𝟑!
a. nPr = (𝟖−𝟓)!
= = = 6,720 ways
𝟑! 𝟑!
b. nPr = 8! = 40,320

Permutation with Repeated Elements

In some instance, you may encounter permutation problems
involving repeated elements.
Permutation with Repeated Objects
The total number of permutations of n objects of which n1 are
similar, n2 are similar, …, nk are similar is given by the expression
𝒏!
where n1+ n2 + n3 +…. + nk = n.
𝒏𝟏!….𝒏𝟐!…𝒏𝟑…𝒏𝒌!

Example: How many distinct permutations are there for the word
PHILIPPINES?

𝟏𝟏! 𝟏𝟏×𝟏𝟎×𝟗×𝟖×𝟕×𝟔×𝟓×𝟒×𝟑!
= (𝟑×𝟐×𝟏)𝟑!
= 1,108,800 permutations
𝟑!𝟑!
Circular Permutation
Circular permutation is the number of ways to set up n distinct
objects beside a fixed circle. If n objects are arranged in a circle, then there
is a total of (n – 1)! permutations.
Example: In how many ways can you sit 8 people in a round tables with
8 seats?
Solution: (8-1)! = 7! = 5,040 ways.

Combinations
A combination is a mathematical technique that determines the
number of possible arrangements in a collection of items where the order
of the selection does not matter. In combinations, you can select the items
in any order.
𝒏𝑷𝒓
Formula: nCr =
𝒓!

Combinations of n Objects Take r at a Time

If a choice of several objects involves selection that regard order as
insignificant, the total number of selections, called combination, is given
𝐧!
by nCr =
𝒓!(𝒏−𝒓)!

Example: Four children are chosen from a class of 30 for a survey. How
many ways can this be done?
Solution: The selection requires combination because order is not
important. Substituting n = 30 and r = 4 gives:
𝟑𝟎! 𝟑𝟎! 𝟑𝟎×𝟐𝟗×𝟐𝟖×𝟐𝟕×𝟐𝟔!
30 C4 = = = = 27,405 ways
𝟒!(𝟑𝟎−𝟒)! 𝟒!𝟐𝟔! 𝟒×𝟑×𝟐×𝟏 𝟐𝟔!
 Module 2

Computing
Probabilities
Sample Space
Also called the Outcome space, is a set of all possible
outcomes of and experiment.
Event
Refers to as subset of the sample space

Example: Two fair dice are rolled and the outcome is recorded. Write a
set of the following events: (a) sum of five and (b) doubles
Solution: Since there are two dice in the experiment and each die has six
faces, by the fundamental principle of counting, then there are 6×6=36
outcomes. Thus the sample space S is:
S= {(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (1,5), (1,6), (2,1), (2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (2,5),
(2,6), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4), (3,5), (3,6), (4,1), (4,2), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5),
(4,6), (5,1), (5,2), (5,3), (5,4), (5,5), (5,6), (6,1), (6,2), (6,3), (6,4), (6,5),
(6,6)}
From the sample space, the event “sum of 5” is the set F= {(1,4),
(2,3), (3,2), (4,1) and the event of “doubles” is the set D= {(1,1), (2,2),
(3,3), (4,4), (5,5), (6,6)}
Simple Probability
The ratio of the number of outcomes favorable for the event to the
total number of possible outcomes is termed as probability. In other
words, a measure of the likelihood of an event (or measure of chance) is
called probability.
The Probability of an Event is a numerical value that describes the
likelihood that an event will happen or not.
The Probability of an event is denoted as P(E), is the numerical
measure of the likelihood that an event will occur
𝒏(𝑬)
P(E)=
𝒏(𝑺)

Where n(E) is the number of elements in the event and n(S) is the number
of elements in the sample space.
Example: If a card is selected at random from a standard deck of 52 cards,
the event “black jack” ahs two elements since E= (jack of spades, jack of
clubs). What is the probability of picking a black jack at random?
𝒏(𝑬) 𝟐 𝟏
P(E)= = = or approximately 3.85%
𝒏(𝑺) 𝟓𝟐 𝟐𝟔
Probability Involving a Sequence of Events
This rules especially applies when the events are independent, that,
is, two events in which the outcome of one does not affect the other
Multiplication rule of Probability: Independent Events
Two events A and B are independent when the outcomes of the first
does not affect the outcomes of the others. In general, the probability of
event A followed by another independent event B occurring is given by
P(A∩B) = P(A) × P(B)
Example: A coin is tossed and a die is rolled. What is the probability of
getting a head followed by four?
Solution: Let A be the event of getting a head from the coin toss and B the
event of getting a 4 from rolling a die.
𝟏 𝟏
P(A)= and P(B)=
𝟐 𝟔

Thus, the probability of the coin landing on a head followed by getting a

4 in a roll of die is
P(A∩B) = P(A) × P(B)
1 𝟏 𝟏
P(A∩B) = × =
2 𝟔 𝟏𝟐
Multiplication rule of Probability: Dependent Events
If events A and B are Dependent events such that the outcomes of
A affect the outcomes of B, then the probability that “event A followed by
event B”
P(A∩B) = P(A) × P(B/A)
Example: Gabriel has a candy box containing 9 chocolate candies and 12
lollipops. If he choses 2 of them at random, what is the probability that he
gets 2 lollipops?
𝟏𝟐
Solution: the probability that Gabriel gets lollipop in the first pick is or
𝟐𝟏
𝟒
and the probability that he gets a lollipop in the second pick (after he
𝟕
𝟏𝟏
previously gets a lollipop) is . Thus, the probability that Gabriel gets
𝟐𝟎
𝟒 𝟏𝟏 𝟏𝟏
two lollipops is × = or 31.43%.
𝟕 𝟐𝟎 𝟑𝟓
Probability of Compound events
A compound event is one in which there is more than one possible
outcome. Determining the probability of a compound event involves
finding the sum of the probabilities of the individual events and, if
necessary, removing any overlapping probabilities.
Addition rule for Probability: Mutually Exclusive Events
The probability of a single event that is made up of two different
mutually exclusive events is given by
P(A∪B) = P(A) + P(B).
Example: A pair of dice is rolled. What is the probability that the sum is
5 or 6?
Solution: The event “sum of 5” is the set {((1,4), (2,3), (3,2), (4,1)}. On
the other hand, the event “sum of 6” is the set {(1,5), (2,4), (3,3), (4,2),
(5,1)}. There are 6×6=36 elements in the sample space.
4 𝟓 𝟏
P (5∩6) = + =
36 𝟑𝟔 𝟒

Addition rule for Probability: Mutually Inclusive Events

If events A and B are given such that A and B have common
outcomes, then the probability “A and B” is determined by
P(A∪B) = P(A) + P(B)- P(A∩B)
Example: If a card is selected at random from a standard deck of cards,
what is the probability that the card drawn is a red card or face card?
Solution: The event “ace or king” is made up of two different events: ace
and king. The two events are mutually exclusive (with no common
elements) and you are finding the probability of their union (suggested by
the preposition “or”). Let A be the event of drawing an ace and B the event
4 𝟏 4
of drawing a king. Then, P(A) = 𝑜𝑟 = and similarity P(B) = +
52 𝟏𝟑 13
𝟏
= since there are 4 aces and 4 kings in standard deck of 52 cards. Thus,
𝟏𝟑
𝟏 𝟏 𝟐
P (ace or king) = + = .
𝟏𝟑 𝟏𝟑 𝟏𝟑

Addition Rule of Probability: Inclusive Events

If events A and B are given such that A and B have common outcomes,
then the probability of the event “A or B” is determined by
P (A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B) – P (A ∩ B).
Examples:
If fa card is selected at random from a standard deck of cards, what
is the probability that the card drawn is a red card or a face card?
Solution:
26 12 6
P (red card) = P (face card) = P (red card) =
52 52 52

P (red or face card) = P (red card) + P (face card) – P (red face card)
26 𝟏𝟐 𝟔 𝟑𝟐 𝟖
P (red or face card) = + − = =
52 𝟓𝟐 𝟓𝟐 𝟓𝟐 𝟏𝟑

Conditional Probability
An event is its probability based on a condition from a precedent
event.
Conditional Probability of an Event
The conditional probability of an event is the probability of the event
given the condition that another ever has previously occurred. It is
computed using the formula
𝑷 ( 𝑨 ∩B)
P(B\A) = , where P(A) ≠ 0.
𝑷(𝑨)

Example: Two strips of paper are chosen, without replacement, from a

small box containing blue and white strips. The probability of selecting a
blue strip and then, a white strip is 0.52 and the probability of selecting a
blue strip on the first draw is 0.72. What is the probability of selecting a
while strip on the second draw given that the first strip chosen was blue?

Solution: Let A be the event of selecting a blue strip and B the event of
selecting a white strip. From the problem, it is given that P(A ∩B) = 0.54
and P(A) = 0.72. Applying the conditional probability formula, we have
𝑷 ( 𝑨 ∩B)
P(B\A) =
𝑷(𝑨)
𝟎.𝟓𝟒 𝟑
P(B\A) = = .
𝟎.𝟕𝟐 𝟒

The probability of choosing a white strip given that the first strip chosen
𝟑
was blue is or 75%.
𝟒
 Module 3
Discrete
Probability
Distribution
Random Variables
A rule that assigns a numerical value or characteristic to an outcome
of an outcome of an experiment.
Discrete random variable
Takes on countable number of distinct values, which are whole
numbers such as 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ….
Continuous random variable
Assumes an infinite number of possible values including the
decimals between two counting numbers.

Example: Discrete vs Continuous Random Variables

a. A fair coin is tossed thirty and the number of times X that a tail
appears is a discrete random variable since its possible values
may be determined by counting, i. e., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, …., 30.
b. A machine is run and the recorded time it starts to experience a
glitch Y illustrates a continuous random variable sine the value
of the variable may measurement.
Range Space
The set of all values possible for a given random variable.
Identifying the range space allows you to find the possible values of
a random variable. The value of a random variable X at a specific outcome
x, is usually denoted as X(xi).
Example: A pair of dice is thrown and the random variable Y is defined
such that Y gives the sum of the two numbers that appear. Determine the
following:
a. Range space c. Y (4, 6)
b. Y (3, 2) d. Y (1, 3)
Solution:
The range space is the set of all possible sums {2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
10, 11, 12,}. Thus, Y (3, 2) = 5, Y (4, 6) = 10 and Y (1, 3) = 4.

Discrete Probability Distribution

A discrete distribution describes the probability of occurrence of
each value of a discrete random variable. With a discrete probability
distribution, each possible value of the discrete random variable can be
associated with a non-zero probability.
Example: Tossing four coins and the variable X gives the number of heads
that appear. Your range space, then, will be set (0,1,2,3,4). Know that
there are 16 possible outcomes as follows.
Solution:
HHHH HTHH THHH
HHHT HTHT THHT
HHTH HTTH THTH
HHTT HTTT THTT

Number of heads (X) 0 1 2 3 4

Probability(P(X)) 0.0625 0.25 0.375 0.25 0.0625
Mean of A Discrete Random Variable
The mean of a discrete random variable X is a weighted average of the possible
values that the random variable can take. Unlike the sample mean of a group of
observations, which gives each observation equal weight, the mean of a random
variable weights each outcome xi according to its probability, pi. The common symbol
for the mean (also known as the expected value of X) is , formally defined by

Example:
Suppose an individual plays a gambling game where it is possible to lose
$1.00, break even, win $3.00, or win $10.00 each time she plays. The
probability distribution for each outcome is provided by the following
table:
Outcome -$1.00 $0.00 $3.00 $5.00
Probability 0.30 0.40 0.20 0.10

Solution:
The mean outcome for this game is calculated as follows:
= (-1*.3) + (0*.4) + (3*.2) + (10*0.1) = -0.3 + 0.6 + 0.5 = 0.8.
In the long run, then, the player can expect to win about 80 cents playing
this game -- the odds are in her favor.

Variance and Standard Deviation of a Random Variable

The variance and standard deviation are two values that describe
how scattered or spread out the scores are from the mean value of the
random variable. The variance, denoted as σ2, is determined using the
formula:
σ2 = Σ { [ x i - ]2 * P(xi) }
Example: Compute the variance and standard deviation of the two
probability distributions (with the same Mean of 5) presented earlier.
Interpret the values.
Solution
x 2 4 6 8
p(x) 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.25
(x- ) -3 -1 1 3
(x- )2 9 1 1 9

σ2 = Σ { [ x i - ]2 * P(xi) }
σ2 = 9(0.25)=1(0.25)+1(0.25)+9(0.25)
σ2=5
σ2=√5 = 2.24