Counting Techniques

Objectives:

 Define and give examples of

Statistical Experiments.

 Define the sample space of an experiments

 Compute the union, intersection, and complement of two events.

 Illustrate operations on two events using Venn diagram

Random experiment

- process or procedure, repeatable under basically the same condition,

leading to well-defined outcomes.

It is random because we can never tell in advance what the result is going
to be even if we know the possible outcomes.
The sample space is the collection of
all possible outcomes or events.

Examples:

1. All faces of a die

2. All 52 cards of a bridge deck

3. Tossing a coin
An event is a collection of one or more simple events. It is an element
of a sample space. It can be a combination of simple events.

Example: Suppose we roll a die and observe the number that comes up.
Two possible events can be defined as follows:

A: the outcome is odd.

B: the outcome is at least 4.
 Types of Sample Space Nature of Sample Space

Finite sample space – Discrete sample space – with a

with finite number of possible
countable (finite or infinite) number
outcomes.
of possible outcomes.

Infinite sample space – with Continuous sample space – with

infinite countable or uncountable
a continuum of possible outcomes.
number of possible outcomes.
Types of event
 

Elementary event – an event consisting of one possible outcome

Impossible event – an event consisting of no outcome.

Denoted as { } or

Sure event – an event consisting of all the possible outcomes

Complement of an event – is the set of all elements of the sample space

which are not in the event A
 

Event relations

The union of two events, A and B, is the event that either A or B or both
occur when the experiment is performed. We write:

A B
S
A B
EXAMPLES:

1. In the experiment of rolling a single die, find the union of the events:

A: The number rolled is even

B: The number rolled is greater than two. S
6 3
A: {2,4,6} 2
4 5
B: {3,4,5,6}
A B
 
A B = {2,4,5,6}
 

Event relations

The intersection of two events, A and B, is the event that both A and B
occur when the experiment is performed. We write:

A B
S

A B
EXAMPLES:

1. Consider the experiment of rolling a die. Find the INTERSECTION of

getting an even number that is multiple of 3.

A: GETTING AN EVEN NUMBER

B: GETTING A MULTIPLE OF 3 S
2
A: {2,4,6} 6 3
B: {3,6}
4
 
A B = {6} A B
MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE EVENTS
- Events that cannot occur Together.

EXAMPLES:
S
1. Turning left and turning right are
Mutually Exclusive (you can't do
both at the same time)
A B
2. Tossing a coin: Heads and Tails
are Mutually Exclusive
S = All 52 cards of a bridge deck
3. Cards: Kings and Aces are
A = RED CARDS
B = BLACK CARDS Mutually Exclusive
 
De morgan’s laws: for any two events a and b.
• (A B) = A’ B’
• (A B) = A’ B’

Other operations:

Try:
1. Set up the sample space for the single toss of a pair of fair dice.

2. List the elements of the following events

A – event of obtaining a sum of 7 or 11
B – event of obtaining a sum of at least 9
C – event of obtaining a sum of at most 5
D – event of obtaining a product of 24
E – event of obtaining a 3 in exactly one of the dice
F – event of obtaining a 3 on either die
G – event of obtaining a sum of 7 and a product of 12