Functional Skills Mathematics Level Learning Resource HD2/L. HD2/L.2
Excellence in skills development Contents HD2/L. Pages 3-6 HD2/L.2 West Nottinghamshire College 2
HD2/L. HD2/L.2 Information is the study of how likely something is to happen. lines show what the numbers mean. 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 0% 25% 50% 75% 00% 0 3 4 2 impossible even chance certain 4 is measured on a scale of 0 to. If an event is certain to happen, then it is said to have a probability of or 00%. If an event is certain not to happen, then it is said to have a probability of 0 or 0%. If an event may or may not happen, then it will have a probability somewhere between 0 - or 0-00%. We use probability to describe the likelihood of a situation occurring. It can be written as a fraction, decimal or percentage using this formula. of an = number of successful ways event occurring total number of all possible ways West Nottinghamshire College 3
HD2/L. HD2/L.2 Examples ) Throwing a coin can have 2 possible outcomes, either heads or tails. Therefore, both are equally likely. In other words, heads or tails both have an even chance. Another way of putting this is in 2 or number of successful ways = total number of all possible ways 2 2) Throwing a single dart can have 63 possible outcomes: single numbers ( to 20) doubles trebles the outer bull (value 25) the inner bull (value 50) outside the scoring area (value 0) 20 outcomes 20 outcomes 20 outcomes outcome outcome outcome This also shows that you can arrive at the same outcome in more than one way. You could hit the 2 or double. The outcome is still 2. You could hit the 9 or the treble 3. The outcome is still 9. You have a two in 63 chance of throwing a 2 or a 9. 3) What is the chance of picking up a red card from a pack of cards? There are 52 cards. 26 are red. Therefore, the probability is 26 out of 52. 26 We write as simplified to or, a one in two chance. 52 2 It can also be expressed as a percentage (50% chance), or a decimal fraction 0.5, or a fifty fifty chance. 4) Listed below are a few more examples of probability. a) There is a 70% chance it will rain tomorrow. b) It is 99% certain that Mansfield Town will win the league! c) There is a 0 % chance it will rain in June. 5) Sometimes an event is impossible, e.g. throwing a 7 with a die. West Nottinghamshire College 4
HD2/L. HD2/L.2 Exercise ) Draw a probability line and place the following on the line: a) having a birthday on 32 July b) snow in June c) rain tomorrow 2) A die is rolled. What is the probability that the result will be: a) a 3 b) a score less than 4 c) an even number 3) A letter is chosen from the word 'terrific'. Determine the probability that it will be: a) an f b) an r c) a vowel d) a consonant 4) A bag contains 3 red balls, 5 blue balls and 2 green balls. A ball is chosen at random from the bag. Find the probability that it will be: a) green b) blue c) red d) not red 5) 20 discs numbered to 20 are placed in a box and one disc is chosen at random. Determine the probability that the number on the disc will be: a) even b) a multiple of 3 c) more than 8 d) less than 8 West Nottinghamshire College 5
HD2/L. HD2/L.2 Exercise 2 ) Draw a probability line and mark on the following events: a) you will climb Mount Everest b) that the next bus you see is red c) if you drop a weight it will fall d) that a drawing pin will land point down 2) Express the above (a - d) as percentages. a) b) c) d) 3) Show b) and d) as decimal fractions. b) d) 4) Show b) and d) as fractions. b) d) 5) Think of 3 sample events, draw a probability line and place these events on it. 6) This table shows the number of sandwiches sold in the Company diner per week. Sandwiches No sold in a week Cheese 350 Ham 90 Chicken 250 Tuna 55 Prawn 05 Total 050 a) What is the probability of the next customer buying a cheese sandwich? b) What is the probability of the next customer buying a prawn sandwich? Express your answers as percentages. West Nottinghamshire College 6