Objective- To differentiate between probability and relative frequency and to solve problems involving both. If a woman were to have a baby in 1990, what is the probability that it would be a boy? Probability = # of favorable outcomes # of possible outcomes P (boy) = boy boy or girl = 1 2 Probability involves predicting future events. = 50 %

Probability involves predicting future events. Relative Frequency involves data from past events. Relative Frequency = # of times an event occurred # of times it could have occurred r = # of boys born in 1990 total # of births in 1990 = 2,129,000 4,158, r 51.2% Based on relative frequency, the probability of having a boy is actually 51.2%.

In 1990, the state of Illinois tested 3840 skunks for rabies, of which 1446 actually had rabies. What was the relative frequency of skunks with rabies? r = frequency total opportunities = r 37.7%

If a hurricane is likely to occur on any day of the week, what is the probability that it will occur on a weekend? P (hurricane) = # of days in weekend # of days in week = or 28.6 %

Probability and relative frequency are always expressed as fractions ( or decimals ) between 0 and 1. Probability-future impossible certain Relative Frequency-past never occurred always occurred

Complementary Events Two events are complementary if their intersection is the empty set and their union is the set of all possible outcomes. P(Hurricane on weekend) P(Hurricane on weekday) Complementary += 1 The sum of probabilities for complementary events always equals 1. P(It will rain) + P(It will not rain) 30% + 70% = 100%