What is Union of events?

• The union of two or more sets is the set

that contains all the elements of each
of the sets; an element is in the union if
it belongs to at least one of the sets.

The symbol for union is ∪ = “or”.

Union of Two Sets: The shaded Venn Diagram
shows

the union of set A (the circle on left) with set B

(the circle on the right). It can be written
shorthand as A∪B.
Example:
A = {1,3,5,7}

B = {1,2,4,6}

A∪B = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7}
ADDITION RULE FOR PROBABILITY

P(A∪B) = P(A) + P(B) – P(A ∩ B )

Example:
Suppose the spinner is spun. We
want to find the probability of
spinning orange or spinning a ‘b’.
Orange is 3/6 =1/2.
Spinning a “b” is 2/6 = 1/3
3/6+2/6-1/6=(3+2-1)/6 = 4/6
or 2/3
1/2+1/3-1/6 = 2/3

The probability of spinning

orange or a “b” is 2/3.
Suppose that in your class of 30 students, 8
students are in band, 15 students play a
sport, and 5 students are both in band and
play a sport. Let A be the event that a
student is in band and let B be the event that
a student plays a sport.
5
5 10
8 5 10
 P(AUB) (3+10+5)/30 =
12 18/30 or 3/5

Using the Addition Rule:

8 5 10
P(AUB)= 8/30 + 15/30-
5/30 = (8+15-5)/30 =
18/30 or 3/5
Try to answer the following:

1. In a painting club, there are 14 members who

enjoy watercolor painting, 23 members who
prefer oil painting, and 9 members who enjoy
both. If one member is randomly selected from
the club, what is the probability that they prefer
either watercolor or oil painting?
2. In a school cafeteria, there are two types
of desserts available: cookies and brownies.
It is found that 70% of students choose
cookies, 60% choose brownies, and 40%
choose both cookies and brownies. What is
the probability that a randomly selected
student chooses either cookies or brownies
(or both)?
3. In a movie club, there are 18 members
who enjoy watching comedies, 25 members
who prefer watching action movies, and 11
members who enjoy both genres. If one
member is randomly selected from the club,
what is the probability that they prefer
either comedies or action movies?