You toss an unbiased coin 5 times. Is HHHHH (5 heads in a row) as probable as HTHTH?Answer: Yes.
On the first throw H or T is equally likely. Say it landed H. The coin does not remember what it did on the first throw, so for the next throw H or T is equally likely, so HH is as likely as HT. One can go on in this manner to show that HHHHH is as likely as HTHTH. The probability of HHHHH is 0.5x0.5x0.5x0.5x0.5 This is the same probability as the probability for HTHTH. Equiprobable events are very important in statistics as many problems are solved using equiprobable events.
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Thursday, October 22, 2015
Mutually Exclusive versus Independent
MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE and INDEPENDENT:
Difference between.
Say you have 3 different types of equal
size marbles in a sack and there are equal numbers of each marble.
Call them marbles A, B and C. Now you draw a marble out, look at it
and replace it What is the probability of drawing out a marble of
type A? Answer 1/3.
What is the probability of drawing out
a marble of type A or B? Answer 2/3. Now this is important. We have a
SINGLE OUTCOME (draw a marble) and we are considering the
probabilities of it being of type A or B (the outcome A and B are
mutually exclusive because they cannot both happen with our SINGLE
OUTCOME). We add 1/3 to 1/3 and get 2/3 for the probability of
drawing type A or B. This is the addition rule for mutually
exclusive events.
Now we ask another type of question. If
we draw a marble and consider this to be an event (and then replace
it) and then draw another marble (and replace it) and consider that
to be another event we can ask ourselves what the probability is that
we will draw a type B and then a type C.. The TWO events are
independent and the answer is (1/3)(1/3) =1/9. The events are
independent because the probability remains 1/3 (the probability on
the second draw is not affected by the first draw).
One point here: The mutually exclusive
idea applies to a single outcome. The independence idea refers to TWO
different outcomes each from a different event. When you add
probabilities you are considering the outcomes that could occur where
there is only ONE outcome (it could be type A or Type B or Type C,
but only one of them occurs).
Now consider this example. When you
drop an egg from a low height there is a probability of 0.6 that the
egg will break. You drop 4 eggs and view the result (outcome). Again
there is only one outcome, but various possibilities for that
outcome. OUTCOME FOR 2 Eggs breaking: One outcome could be that 2
eggs break in this way: 1 breaks 2 does not, 3 breaks, 4 does not OR
another outcome could be 1 does not, 2 does not 3 does and 4 does.
You have a mutually exclusive situation because the outcomes are
different, BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE OUTCOME. The outcome 1 breaks and 2
breaks, but the others do not is different to the outcome that 1 does
not, 2 does not and 3 and 4 do (they are mutually exclusive because
for your ONE outcome only one of them can occur). You can find the
probability of two eggs breaking by using the MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE RULE
and adding the probability that 1 and 2 break, others do not to 1 and
3 break and others do not and so on until you have added all probabilities for cases
where two eggs could break. To summarize: Where there is one outcome,
but various mutually exclusive ways that single outcome could occur,
you add the mutually exclusive probabilities. Now consider the
independent events associated: Example: What is the probability that
egg 1 breaks and egg 2 does not and egg 3 does and egg 4 does not.
This applies to different events and the answer is
(0.6)(0.4)(0.6)(0.4) using the multiplication rule for different
independent events. The events are independent because the breaking
of one egg does not affect the probability that another egg will
break.
To summarise: One outcome, but various
possibilities that are mutually exclusive – use the addition rule.
Two or more independent events (one outcome for each of the events)
use the multiplication rule.
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