ESSENTIAL STATISTICS 2E

William Navidi and Barry Monk

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 The Addition Rule and
the Rule of Complements
Section 4.2

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 Objectives
1. Compute probabilities by using the General Addition Rule
2. Compute probabilities by using the Addition Rule for
Mutually Exclusive Events
3. Compute probabilities by using the Rule of Complements

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 Objective 1
Compute probabilities by using the General
Addition Rule

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 A or B Events and the General Addition Rule
A compound event is an event that is formed by
combining two or more events. One type of compound
event is of the form A or B. The event A or B occurs
whenever A occurs, B occurs, or A and B both occur.
Probabilities of events in the form A or B are computed
using the General Addition Rule.

General Addition Rule:

For any two events A and B,
(A or B) = (A) + (B) (A and B)

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 Example: General Addition Rule
1000 adults were asked whether they favored a law that would
provide support for higher education. In addition, each person was
classified as likely to vote or not likely to vote based on whether they
voted in the last election. What is the probability that a randomly
selected adult is likely to vote or favors the law?

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 Example: General Addition Rule (Solution)
What is the probability that a randomly selected adult is likely to vote or
favors the law?

There are 372 + 262 + 87 = 721 people who are likely to vote, so
(Likely vote) = 721/1000 = 0.721. There are 372 + 151 = 523 people who
favor the law, so (Favor) = 523/1000 = 0.523.
The number of people who are both likely to vote and who favor the law is
372. So, (Likely vote AND Favors) = 372/1000 = 0.372.
By the General Addition Rule,
(Likely vote or Favors) = (Likely vote)+(Favors)(Likely vote and favors)
= 0.721 + 0.523 0.372
= 0.872
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 Objective 2
Compute probabilities by using the Addition
Rule for Mutually Exclusive Events

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 Mutually Exclusive Events
Two events are said to be mutually exclusive if it is impossible for
both events to occur.

Example:
A die is rolled. Event A is that the die comes up 3, and event B is that
the die comes up an even number.
These events are mutually exclusive since the die cannot both come
up 3 and come up an even number.

A fair coin is tossed twice. Event A is that one of the tosses is heads,
and Event B is that one of the tosses is tails.
These events are not mutually exclusive since, if the two tosses are
HT or TH, then both events occur.

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 The Addition Rule for Mutually Exclusive Events
If events A and B are mutually exclusive, then
(A and B) = 0.
This leads to a simplification of the General Addition Rule.

Addition Rule for Mutually Exclusive Events:

If A and B are mutually exclusive events, then
(A or B) = (A) + (B)

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 Example: Addition Rule/Mutually Exclusive
In a recent year of the Olympic Games, a total of 10,735 athletes
participated. Of these, 530 represented the United States, 277
represented Canada, and 102 represented Mexico. What is the
probability that an Olympic athlete chosen at random represents the
U.S. or Canada?
Solution:
These events are mutually exclusive, because it is impossible to
compete for both the U.S. and Canada. So,
(U.S. or Canada) = (U.S.) + (Canada)
530 277
= +
10,735 10,735
807
=
10,735
= 0.07517

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 Objective 3
Compute probabilities by using the Rule of
Complements

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 The Complement of an Event
If there is a 60% chance of rain today, then there is a 40%
chance that it will not rain. The events Rain and No rain
are complements. The complement of an event says that
the event does not occur.

If A is any event, the complement of A is the event that A

does not occur. The complement of A is denoted Ac.

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 Example: Complement of an Event
Two hundred students were enrolled in a Statistics class.
Find the complements of the following events:
Exactly 50 of them are business majors.
The complement is that the number of business majors
is not 50.
More than 50 of them are business majors.
The complement is that 50 or fewer are business
majors.
At least 50 of them are business majors.
The complement is that fewer than 50 are business
majors.

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 The Rule of Complements
The Rule of Complements:
(Ac) = 1 (A)

Example:
According to the Wall Street Journal, 40% of cars sold in a
recent year were small cars. What is the probability that a
randomly chosen car sold in that year is not a small car?

Solution:
(Not a small car) = 1 (Small car) = 1 0.40 = 0.60.

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 You Should Know . . .
How to use The General Addition Rule to compute
probabilities of events in the form A or B
How to determine whether events are mutually exclusive
How to compute probabilities of mutually exclusive
events
How to determine the complement of an event
How to use the Rule of Complements to compute
probabilities

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