Probability for rolling 2 dice

Rolling two dice always plays a key role in probability concept. Whenever we go through the
stuff probability in statistics, we will definitely have examples with rolling two dice.

Sample space when 2 dice are rolled

Look at the six faced die which is given below.

The above six faced die has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 on its faces.

When a die is rolled once, the sample space is

S = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

So, total no. of all possible outcomes = 6

When two dice are rolled,

Total no. of all possible outcomes = 6 x 6 = 36

Here, the sample space is given when two dice are rolled
Let us understand the sample space of rolling two dice.

For example,

(4, 3) stands for getting "4" on the first die and “3" on the second die.

(1, 6) stands for getting "1" on the first die and "6" on the second die.

Probability for rolling 2 dice - Formula

We can use the formula from classic definition to find probability when two dice are rolled.

Probability=Favourable cases / Total no of cases

Or

Since there are 32 outcomes in total when two dice are rolled,

We have n(S) = 36

Probability for rolling 2 dice - Practice problems

Problem 1:
A dice is rolled twice. What is the probability of getting a difference of 2 points?

Solution:

If an experiment results in p outcomes and if the experiment is repeated q times, then the total
number of outcomes is pq.

In the present case, since a dice results in 6 outcomes and the dice is rolled twice, total no. of
outcomes or elementary events is 62 or 36.

We assume that the dice is unbiased which ensures that all these 36 elementary events are
equally likely.

Now a difference of 2 points in the uppermost faces of the dice thrown twice can occur in the
following cases:

Thus denoting the event of getting a difference of 2 points by A, we find that the no. of
outcomes favourable to A, from the above table, is 8.

By classical definition of probability, we get

P(A) = 8 / 36

P(A) = 2 / 9
Problem 2 :

Two dice are thrown simultaneously. Find the probability that the sum of points on the two
dice would be 7 or more.

Solution :

If two dice are thrown then, as explained in the last problem, total no. of elementary events is
62 or 36.

Now a total of 7 or more i.e. 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 11 or 12 can occur only in the following

combinations :

Thus the no. of favourable outcomes is 21.

Letting A stand for getting a total of 7 points or more, we have

P(A) = 21 / 36

P(A) = 7 / 12

Problem 3 :

Two dice are thrown simultaneously. Find the probability of getting a double?

Solution :

Let us look at the sample when two dice are rolled.

In the sample space of rolling two dice, there are six cases when in which doubles are rolled.

They are

(1, 1), (2, 2), (3, 3), (4, 4), (5, 5) and (6, 6)

Letting A stand for getting a double,

we have P(A) = 6 / 36=1/6

After having gone through the stuff given above, we hope that the students would have
understood "Probability for rolling 2 dice".

Probabilities for Rolling Three Dice

Just as one die has six outcomes and two dice have 62 = 36 outcomes, the probability
experiment of rolling three dice has 63 = 216 outcomes. This idea generalizes further for more
dice. If we roll n dice then there are 6n outcomes.

We can also consider the possible sums from rolling several dice. The smallest possible sum
occurs when all of the dice are the smallest, or one each. This gives a sum of three when we
are rolling three dice. The greatest number on a die is six, which means that the greatest
possible sum occurs when all three dice are sixes. The sum for this situation is 18.

When n dice are rolled, the least possible sum is n and the greatest possible sum is 6n.

Forming Sums
As discussed above, for three dice the possible sums include every number from three to 18.
The probabilities can be calculated by using counting strategies and recognizing that we are
looking for ways to partition a number into exactly three whole numbers. For example, the
only way to obtain a sum of three is 3 = 1 + 1 + 1. Since each die is independent from the
others, a sum such as four can be obtained in three different ways:

1+1+2

1+2+1

2+1+1

Further counting arguments can be used to find the number of ways of forming the other
sums. The partitions for each sum follow:

3 = 1 + 1 + 1=1 way

4 = 1 + 1 + 2=3 ways

5 = 1 + 1 + 3 = 2 + 2 + 1=6 ways

6 = 1 + 1 + 4 = 1 + 2 + 3 = 2 + 2 + 2=10 ways

7 = 1 + 1 + 5 = 2 + 2 + 3 = 3 + 3 + 1 = 1 + 2 + 4=15 ways

8 = 1 + 1 + 6 = 2 + 3 + 3 = 4 + 3 + 1 = 1 + 2 + 5 = 2 + 2 + 4=21 ways

9 = 6 + 2 + 1 = 4 + 3 + 2 = 3 + 3 + 3 = 2 + 2 + 5 = 1 + 3 + 5 = 1 + 4 + 4=25 ways

10 = 6 + 3 + 1 = 6 + 2 + 2 = 5 + 3 + 2 = 4 + 4 + 2 = 4 + 3 + 3 = 1 + 4 + 5=27 ways

11 = 6 + 4 + 1 = 1 + 5 + 5 = 5 + 4 + 2 = 3 + 3 + 5 = 4 + 3 + 4 = 6 + 3 + 2=27 ways

12 = 6 + 5 + 1 = 4 + 3 + 5 = 4 + 4 + 4 = 5 + 2 + 5 = 6 + 4 + 2 = 6 + 3 + 3=25 ways

13 = 6 + 6 + 1 = 5 + 4 + 4 = 3 + 4 + 6 = 6 + 5 + 2 = 5 + 5 + 3=21 ways

14 = 6 + 6 + 2 = 5 + 5 + 4 = 4 + 4 + 6 = 6 + 5 + 3=15 ways

15 = 6 + 6 + 3 = 6 + 5 + 4 = 5 + 5 + 5=10 ways

16 = 6 + 6 + 4 = 5 + 5 + 6=6 ways

17 = 6 + 6 + 5=3 ways

18 = 6 + 6 + 6=1 ways
When three different numbers form the partition, such as 7 = 1 + 2 + 4, there are 3! (3x2x1)
different ways of permuting these numbers. So this would count toward three outcomes in the
sample space. When two different numbers form the partition, then there are three different
ways of permuting these numbers.

Specific Probabilities
We divide the total number of ways to obtain each sum by the total number of outcomes in
the sample space, or 216.

The results are:

Probability of a sum of 3: 1/216 = 0.5%

Probability of a sum of 4: 3/216 = 1.4%

Probability of a sum of 5: 6/216 = 2.8%

Probability of a sum of 6: 10/216 = 4.6%

Probability of a sum of 7: 15/216 = 7.0%

Probability of a sum of 8: 21/216 = 9.7%

Probability of a sum of 9: 25/216 = 11.6%

Probability of a sum of 10: 27/216 = 12.5%

Probability of a sum of 11: 27/216 = 12.5%

Probability of a sum of 12: 25/216 = 11.6%

Probability of a sum of 13: 21/216 = 9.7%

Probability of a sum of 14: 15/216 = 7.0%

Probability of a sum of 15: 10/216 = 4.6%

Probability of a sum of 16: 6/216 = 2.8%

Probability of a sum of 17: 3/216 = 1.4%

Probability of a sum of 18: 1/216 = 0.5%