Probability of Union of

Two Events
Objectives:

 Illustrate events, and union and intersection of events.

 Illustrate the probability of a union of two events.
 Find the probability of (AUB).
 Illustrate mutually exclusive events
 Solve problems involving probability.
In a six – sided die experiment
if A represents the event that the number is even

A = {2, 4, 6}
B represents the event that the number is multiple of 3, and
B = {3 and 6}
C represents the event that the number is a multiple of 5.
C = {5}
 A B C

2 3
6 5
4
Probability of Union of Two Events

If A and B are events in the same sample space, then the probability of A or B
occurring is:
Non mutually exclusive
P(A or B) = P(AUB) = P(A) + P (B) – P(A∩B) events
If A∩B is an empty set, then A and B are mutually exclusive events and:
P(A or B) = P(AUB) = P(A) + P (B)
Mutually Exclusive or Not Mutually Exclusive Events

1) Tossing a 4 or a number greater than 3 if one die is tossed.

Not – mutually exclusive events
2) Drawing a black card or a face card from a deck of cards.
Not – mutually exclusive events
3) Selecting a boy or senior to represent the glee club from the glee club, where 9 of the 15 girls
are senior and 5 of the 12 boys are seniors.
Not – mutually exclusive events
4) A = {H, O, P, E} and B = {F, I, T}
Mutually exclusive events
5) M = {T, R, U, E} and N = {F, A, L, S, E}
Not - mutually exclusive events
Problem

A card is drawn at random from a deck of 52 playing cards.

Find the probability that the card drawn is:
a. An ace or a king.
b. A king or diamond
Solution

A. Event A (Ace) -> A♥ , A♦, A♣, A♠

Event B (King) -> K♥, K♦, K♣, K♠
P(A or B) = P(A) + P (B)
=
=
= 15.38%
B. Event A (King) -> K♥, K♦, K♣, K♠
Event B (Diamond) -> ♦ A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K
P(A or B) = P(A) + P (B) – P(A∩B)
=
=
=
= 30.76%
Problem

A card is drawn from a standard deck of car. Find the probability that the card
shows a heart or a spade.
Mutually exclusive events.
P(A or B) = P(A) + P (B)
=
=
=
Problem

A bag contains 4 chocolates, 7 jellybeans, and 9 gummy bears. A candy is

picked from the bag. What is the probability that it is a gummy bear or a jelly bean?
Mutually exclusive events.
P(A or B) = P(A) + P (B)
=
=
=
Problem

A number is drawn at random from the set {1, 2, 3, …, 40}. Find the probability
that the number chosen is a multiple of 2 or a multiple of 5.
Not – mutually exclusive events.
P(A or B) = P(A) + P (B) – P(A∩B)
=
=
=
= 60%