Sample space- set of all possible outcomes

Example: A coin is tossed and a die is rolled. Draw a tree diagram and find a sample.
Solution:
1. Since there are two outcomes ( heads and tails for the coin), draw two branches from a singel point and label one
H for head and the other one T for tail.
2. From each one of these outcomes, draw and label six branches representing the outcomes 1, 2,3,4,5 and 6 for a
die.
3. Trace through each branch to find the outcomes of the experiment. See Figure 2-1
Figure 2-1

1 H1
2 H2
3 H3
4 H4
H 5 H5

6 H6

1 T1
2 T2
T
3 T3
4 T4

5 T5

6 T6
Hence there are twelve outcomes. They are H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6, T1, T2, T3, T4, TR5 and T6.
Once the sample space has been found, probabilities for events can be computed.

Example 2: A coin is tossed and a die is rolled. Find the probability of getting
a. A head on a coin and a 3 on the die
b. A head on the coin
c. A 4 on a die
Solution :
a. Since there are 12 outcomes in the sample space and only one way to get the head on
the coin and a three on a die,
P(H3)= 1/ 2
b. Since there are six ways to get a head on a coin, namely H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 and H6,
P(head on the coin)=6/12=1/2
c. Since there are two ways to get a 4 on a die, namely H4 and T4,
P(4 on a die)= 2/12=1/6

Example: Tree coin are tossed . Draw a tree diagram and find the sample space.
Solution: Each coin can land either heads up (H) or tails up (T); therefore, the tree diagram will
consist of tree parts and each part will have two branches. See Figure 2-2
P(E)= number of outcomes in the event
total number of outcomes in the sample space
H HHH
H
T HHT
H
H HTH
T
T HHT

H THH
H
T THT
T
H TTH
T
T TTT

Fig. 2-2
Example: Three coin are tossed. Find the probability of getting
a. Two heads or a tail in any order
b. Three heads
c. No heads
d. At least two tails
e. At most two tails
Solution:
a. There are eight outcomes in the sample space, and there are three ways to get two heads
and a tail in any order. They are HHT, HTH, and THH, hence ,
P(2 heads and a tail)= 3/8
b. Three heads can occur in only one way; hence,
P(HHH)=1/8
c. The event of getting no heads can occur in only one way-namely TTT; hence,
P(TTT)=1/8
d. The event of at least two tails means two tails and one head or three tails. There are 4
outcomes in these events-namely TTH, THT, HTT, and TTT; hence,
P(at least two tails)= 4/8=1/2
e. The event of getting at most two tails means zero tails, one tail, or two tails. There are seven
outcomes in this events ---- HHH, THH, HTH, HHT, TTH, THT, HTT; hence,
P(at most two tails)= 7/8
Practice :
1. if the possible blood types are A, B, AB, and O, and each type can be Rh or Rh
Draw a tree diagram and find all possible bloodtypes.

+ A+

A - A-

+ B+
B
- B-

+ AB+
AB
- AB-

O + O+
- O-
Tables- another way to find sample space
Ex.
Find the sample for selecting the card from an standard deck of 52 cards.
Solution: There are 4 suits- hearts and diamonds, which are red, and spades and clubs, which are black.
Each suits consist of 13 cards ace through king . Hence, the sample space can be shown using the table

A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J K Q

A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J K Q

A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J K Q

A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J K Q

Face cards are kings, queens and jack. Once a sample space is found, probabilities for events can be
computed.
P(E)= # OF OUTCOMES
TOTAL # OF OUTCOMES

A single card is drawn at random from a standard deck of cards. Find the probability that it is
a. The 4 of diamonds
b. A queen
c. A 5 or A heart
SOLUTION
a. The sample space consists of 52 outcomes and only one outcome is the 4 of diamonds;
P(4 )= 1
52
b. Since there are four queens ( one of each suits ),
P(Q)= 4 = 1
52 13
c. In this case , there are 13 hearts and 4 fives, however, the 5 has been counted twice, so the
number of ways to get a 5 or a heart is 13 + 4 – 1 = 16.
P(5 or )= 16 = 4
52 13
 A table can also can also be used for the sample space when two dice are rolled. Since the
first die can land in six ways and the second die can land in six ways, there are 6 x 6 or 36 outcomes in the
sample space. It does not. matter whether the two dice are rolled at the same color.

Die 2
Die 1 1 2 3 4 5 6
1 (1,1) (2,1) (3,1) (4,1) (5,1) (6,1)
2 (1,2) (2,2) (3,2) (4,2) (5,2) (6,2)
3 (1,3) (2,3) (3,3) (4,3) (5,3) (6,3)
4 (1.4) (2,4) (3,4) (4,4) (5,4) (6,4)
5 (1,5) (2,5) (3,5) (4,5) (5,5) (6,5)
6 (1,6) (2,6) (3,6) (4,6) (5,6) (6,6)
EXAMPLE: When two dice are rolled, find the probability of getting the sum of 9.
SOLUTION: There are four ways of getting the sum of 9. they are (6,3), (5,4), (4,5), and (3,6). The sample
space consist of 32 outcomes
 EXAMPLE: When two dice are rolled, find the probability of getting the sum of 9.
SOLUTION: There are four ways of getting the sum of 9. they are (6,3), (5,4), (4,5), and (3,6). The
sample space consist of 32 outcomes
P(9) = 4 = 1
36 9

EXAMPLE: When two die are rolled, find the probability of getting doubles.
SOLUTION: There are six ways of getting doubles. They are (1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (4,4), (5,5) and (6,6)
P(doubles)= 6 = 1
36 6

EXAMPLE: When two dice are rolled, find the probability that one number is six. They are (1,6), (2,6),
(3,6), (4,6), (5,6),(6,6),(6,5), (6,4), (6,3),(6,2) and (6,1).
P(one of the number is ) = 11
36