Past Paper questions of Probability

1. (a) List the elements of the set A = {x│–4 ≤ x ≤ 2, x is an integer}.

(1)

A number is chosen at random from set A.

Write down the probability that the number chosen is

(b) a negative integer;

(2)

(c) a positive even integer;

(1)

(d) an odd integer less than –1.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

2. The probability that it rains today is 0.4. If it rains today, the probability that it will rain
tomorrow is 0.8. If it does not rain today, the probability that it will rain tomorrow is 0.7.

(a) Complete the tree diagram below.

(3)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(b) Calculate the probability of rain tomorrow.

(3)
(Total 6 marks)

3. A survey was carried out at an international airport. A number of travellers were interviewed
and asked for their flight destinations. The results are shown in the table below.

Destination America Africa Asia

Number of males 45 62 37
Number of females 35 46 25

One traveller is to be chosen at random from all those interviewed.

(a) Find the probability that this traveller was going to Africa.
(2)

One female traveller is to be chosen at random from all those interviewed.

(b) Find the probability that this female traveller was going to Asia.
(2)

One traveller is to be chosen at random from those not going to America.

(c) Find the probability that the chosen traveller is female.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

4. Some of the customers in each café were given survey forms to complete to find out if they
were satisfied with the standard of service they received.

Pete’s Eats Alan’s Diner Sarah’s Snackbar Total

Dissatisfied 16 8 16 40
Satisfied 26 20 34 80
Total 42 28 50 120

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

One of the survey forms was chosen at random, find the probability that

(a) the form showed “Dissatisfied”;

(2)

(b) the form showed “Satisfied” and was completed at Sarah’s Snackbar;
(2)

(c) the form showed “Dissatisfied”, given that it was completed at Alan’s Diner.
(2)

5. Maria travels to school either by walking or by bicycle. The probability she cycles to school is
0.75.

If she walks, the probability that she is late for school is 0.1.
If she cycles, the probability that she is late for school is 0.05.

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(a) Complete the tree diagram below, showing the appropriate probabilities.

(3)

(b) Find the probability that Maria is late for school.

(3)
(Total 6 marks)

6. In a research project on the relation between the gender of 150 science students at college and
their degree subject, the following set of data is collected.

Degree Subject
Biology Physics Chemistry
Gender Male 40 16 35
Female 15 24 20

Find the probability that a student chosen at random

(a) is male;
(2)

(b) is either male or studies Chemistry;

(2)

4
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(c) studies Physics, given that the student is male.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

7. A group of 30 students were asked about their favourite topping for toast.

18 liked peanut butter (A)

10 liked jam (B)
6 liked neither

(a) Show this information on the Venn diagram below.

(2)

(b) Find the number of students who like both peanut butter and jam.
(2)

(c) Find the probability that a randomly chosen student from the group likes peanut butter,
given that they like jam.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

8. Let P(A) = 0.5, P(B) = 0.6 and P(A  B) = 0.8.

(a) Find P(A  B).

(2)

5
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(b) Find P(A│B).

(2)

(c) Decide whether A and B are independent events. Give a reason for your answer.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

9. (a) Phoebe chooses a biscuit from a blue tin on a shelf. The tin contains one chocolate biscuit
and four plain biscuits. She eats the biscuit and chooses another one from the tin. The tree
diagram below represents the situation with the four possible outcomes where A stands
for chocolate biscuit and B for plain biscuit.

(i) Write down the value of a.

(ii) Write down the value of b.

(iii) Find the probability that both biscuits are plain.

(6)

6
 Past Paper questions of Probability

On another shelf there are two tins, one red and one green. The red tin contains three chocolate
biscuits and seven plain biscuits and the green tin contains one chocolate biscuit and four plain
biscuits. Andrew randomly chooses either the red or the green tin and randomly selects a
biscuit.

(b) Copy and complete the tree diagram below.

(3)

(c) Find the probability that

(i) he chooses a chocolate biscuit;

(ii) he chooses a biscuit from the red tin given that it is a chocolate biscuit.
(6)
(Total 15 marks)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

10. A survey was carried out in a group of 200 people. They were asked whether they smoke or not.
The collected information was organized in the following table.

Smoker Non-smoker
Male 60 40
Female 30 70

One person from this group is chosen at random.

(a) Write down the probability that this person is a smoker.

(2)

(b) Write down the probability that this person is male given that they are a smoker.
(2)

(c) Find the probability that this person is a smoker or is male.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

11. 100 students are asked what they had for breakfast on a particular morning. There were three
choices: cereal (X), bread (Y) and fruit (Z). It is found that

10 students had all three

17 students had bread and fruit only
15 students had cereal and fruit only
12 students had cereal and bread only
13 students had only bread
8 students had only cereal
9 students had only fruit

(a) Represent this information on a Venn diagram.

(4)

(b) Find the number of students who had none of the three choices for breakfast.
(2)

(c) Write down the percentage of students who had fruit for breakfast.
(2)

(d) Describe in words what the students in the set X  Y′ had for breakfast.
(2)

(e) Find the probability that a student had at least two of the three choices for breakfast.
(2)

(f) Two students are chosen at random. Find the probability that both students had all three
choices for breakfast.
(3)
(Total 15 marks)

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

12. A fair six-sided die has the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 written on its faces. A fair four-sided die has
the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 written on its faces. The two dice are rolled.

The following diagram shows the possible outcomes.

(a) Find the probability that the two dice show the same number.
(2)

(b) Find the probability that the difference between the two numbers shown on the dice is 1.
(2)

(c) Find the probability that the number shown on the four-sided die is greater than the
number shown on the six-sided die, given that the difference between the two numbers is
1.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

4 5
13. For events A and B, the probabilities are P(A) = and P(B) = .
13 13

(a) If events A and B are mutually exclusive, write down the value of P (A  B).
(1)

(b) If events A and B are independent, find the value of P (A  B).

(2)

10
 Past Paper questions of Probability

7
(c) If P(A  B) = , find the value of P(A  B).
13
(3)
(Total 6 marks)

14. A weighted die has 2 red faces, 3 green faces and 1 black face. When the die is thrown, the
black face is three times as likely to appear on top as one of the other five faces.
The other five faces have equal probability of appearing on top.

The following table gives the probabilities.

Red 1 Red 2 Green 1 Green 2 Green 3 Black

1 1 1 m 1 n
8 8 8 8 8 8

(a) Find the value of

(i) m;

(ii) n.
(2)

The die is thrown once.

(b) Given that the face on top is not red, find the probability that it is black.
(2)

The die is now thrown twice.

(c) Calculate the probability that black appears on top both times.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

11
 Past Paper questions of Probability

15. Sharon and Lisa share a flat. Sharon cooks dinner three nights out of ten.
If Sharon does not cook dinner, then Lisa does. If Sharon cooks dinner the probability that they
have pasta is 0.75. If Lisa cooks dinner the probability that they have pasta is 0.12.

(a) Copy and complete the tree diagram to represent this information.

(3)

(b) Find the probability that Lisa cooks dinner and they do not have pasta.
(2)

(c) Find the probability that they do not have pasta.

(3)

(d) Given that they do not have pasta, find the probability that Lisa cooked dinner.
(3)
(Total 11 marks)

12
 Past Paper questions of Probability

16. A survey of 100 families was carried out, asking about the pets they own.
The results are given below.

56 owned dogs (S)

38 owned cats (Q)
22 owned birds (R)
16 owned dogs and cats, but not birds
8 owned birds and cats, but not dogs
3 owned dogs and birds, but not cats
4 owned all three types of pets

(a) Draw a Venn diagram to represent this information.

(5)

(b) Find the number of families who own no pets.

(2)

(c) Find the percentage of families that own exactly one pet.
(3)

(d) A family is chosen at random. Find the probability that they own a cat, given that they
own a bird.
(2)
(Total 12 marks)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

17. The probability that it will snow tomorrow is 0.3.

If it snows tomorrow the probability that Chuck will be late for school is 0.8.
If it does not snow tomorrow the probability that Chuck will be late for school is 0.1.

(a) Complete the tree diagram below.

(3)

(b) Find the probability that it does not snow tomorrow and Chuck is late for school.
(1)

(c) Find the probability that Chuck is late for school.

(2)
(Total 6 marks)

18. A class consists of students studying Spanish or French or both. Fifteen students study Spanish
and twelve study French.

7
The probability that a student studies French given that she studies Spanish is .
15

(a) Draw a Venn diagram to illustrate this information.

(3)

(b) Find the probability that a student studies Spanish given that she studies one language
only.
(3)
(Total 6 marks)

14
 Past Paper questions of Probability

19. The table below shows the number of words in the extended essays of an IB class.

(a) Draw a histogram on the grid below for the data in this table.

20

15
Frequency

10

0
3000 3200 3400 3600 3800 4000 4200 4400
Number of words
(3)

(b) Write down the modal group.

(1)

The maximum word count is 4000 words.

(c) Write down the probability that a student chosen at random is on or over the word count.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

15
 Past Paper questions of Probability

20. The following histogram shows the weights of a number of frozen chickens in a supermarket.
The weights are grouped such that 1  weight  2, 2  weight  3 and so on.

55

50

45

40

35

30
number of
chickens
25

20

15

10

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
weight (kg)

(a) On the graph above, draw in the frequency polygon.

(2)

(b) Find the total number of chickens.

(1)

(c) Write down the modal group.

(1)

Gabriel chooses a chicken at random.

(d) Find the probability that this chicken weighs less than 4 kg.
(2)
(Total 6 marks)

16
 Past Paper questions of Probability

21. When Andy plays tennis, 65 of his first serves go into the correct area of the court.
If the first serve goes into the correct area, his chance of winning the point is 90.
If his first serve does not go into the correct area, Andy is allowed a second serve and, of these,
80 go into the correct area.
If the second serve goes into the correct area, his chance of winning the point is 60.
If neither serve goes into the correct area, Andy loses the point.

(a) Complete the tree diagram below.

Wi n
.....
First
serve
in
0.65 0.1
Lose
0.6 Wi n
Second
0.35 serve
First 0.8 in
0.4 Lose
serve
out
0.2
Second
serve .....
out Lose
(2)

(b) Find the probability that Andy loses the point.

(4)
(Total 6 marks)

17
 Past Paper questions of Probability

22. A group of 50 students completed a questionnaire for a Mathematical Studies project. The
following data was collected.

18 students own a digital camera (D)

15 students own an iPod (I)
26 students own a cell phone (C)
1 student owns all three items
5 students own a digital camera and an iPod but not a cell phone
2 students own a cell phone and an iPod but not a digital camera
3 students own a cell phone and a digital camera but not an iPod

(a) Represent this information on a Venn diagram.

(4)

(b) Calculate the number of students who own none of the items mentioned above.
(2)

(c) If a student is chosen at random, write down the probability that the student owns a digital
camera only.
(1)

(d) If two students are chosen at random, calculate the probability that they both own a cell
phone only.
(3)

(e) If a student owns an iPod, write down the probability that the student also owns a digital
camera.
(2)
(Total 12 marks)

18
 Past Paper questions of Probability

23. Claire and Kate both wish to go to the cinema but one of them has to stay at home to baby-sit.

The probability that Kate goes to the cinema is 0.2. If Kate does not go Claire goes.
If Kate goes to the cinema the probability that she is late home is 0.3.
If Claire goes to the cinema the probability that she is late home is 0.6.

(a) Copy and complete the probability tree diagram below.

Late
0.3
Kate
0.2
...
Not Late

Late
...
... Claire

... Not Late

(3)

(b) Calculate the probability that

(i) Kate goes to the cinema and is not late;

(2)

(ii) the person who goes to the cinema arrives home late.
(3)
(Total 8 marks)

19
 Past Paper questions of Probability

24. A survey of 400 people is carried out by a market research organization in two different cities,
Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The people are asked which brand of cereal they prefer out of
Chocos, Zucos or Fruti. The table below summarizes their responses.

Chocos Zucos Fruti Total

Buenos Aires 43 85 62 190
Montevideo 57 35 118 210
Total 100 120 180 400

(a) One person is chosen at random from those surveyed. Find the probability that this person

(i) does not prefer Zucos;

(ii) prefers Chocos, given that they live in Montevideo.

(4)

(b) Two people are chosen at random from those surveyed. Find the probability that they
both prefer Fruti.
(3)

20
 Past Paper questions of Probability

25. The grades obtained by a group of 20 IB students are listed below:

6 2 5 3 5 5 6 2 6 1

7 6 2 4 2 4 3 4 5 6

(a) Complete the following table for the grades obtained by the students.

Grade Frequency
1
2
3 2
4
5 4
6
7 1
(2)

(b) Write down the modal grade obtained by the students.

(1)

(c) Calculate the median grade obtained by the students.

(2)

One student is chosen at random from the group.

(d) Find the probability that this student obtained either grade 4 or grade 5.
(1)
(Total 6 marks)

21
 Past Paper questions of Probability

26. Jorge conducted a survey of 200 drivers. He asked two questions:

How long have you had your driving licence?

Do you wear a seat belt when driving?

The replies are summarized in the table below.

Do not wear a
Wear a seat belt
seat belt
Licence less than 2
38 42
years
Licence between 2
30 45
and 15 years
Licence more than
30 15
15 years

Consider the 200 drivers surveyed. One driver is chosen at random.

Calculate the probability that

(i) this driver wears a seat belt;

(ii) the driver does not wear a seat belt, given that the driver has held a licence for
more than 15 years.
(4)

22
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(c) Two drivers are chosen at random. Calculate the probability that

(i) both wear a seat belt.

(ii) at least one wears a seat belt.

(6)
(Total 18 marks)

27. Neil has three dogs. Two are brown and one is grey. When he feeds the dogs, Neil uses three
bowls and gives them out randomly. There are two red bowls and one yellow bowl. This
information is shown on the tree diagram below.

2 Red
3

2 Brown 1
3 Yellow
3
2 Red
1
Grey 3
3

1
Yellow
3

(a) One of the dogs is chosen at random.

(i) Find P (the dog is grey and has the yellow bowl).

(ii) Find P (the dog does not get the yellow bowl).
(3)

23
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(b) Neil often takes the dogs to the park after they have eaten. He has noticed that the grey
dog plays with a stick for a quarter of the time and both brown dogs play with sticks for
half of the time. This information is shown on the tree diagram below.

Stick

2
Brown
3 No
stick

1 Stick
3 Grey

No
stick

(i) Copy the tree diagram and add the four missing probability values on the branches that
refer to playing with a stick.

During a trip to the park, one of the dogs is chosen at random.

(ii) Find P (the dog is grey or is playing with a stick, but not both).

(iii) Find P (the dog is grey given that the dog is playing with a stick).

(iv) Find P (the dog is grey and was fed from the yellow bowl and is not
playing with a stick).
(9)
(Total 12 marks)

24
 Past Paper questions of Probability

28. There are 49 mice in a pet shop.

30 mice are white.
27 mice are male.
18 mice have short tails.
8 mice are white and have short tails.
11 mice are male and have short tails.
7 mice are male but neither white nor short-tailed.
5 mice have all three characteristics and
2 have none.

Copy the diagram below to your examination script.

W represents white mice.

S W U M represents male mice.
S represents short-tailed mice.
3

(a) Complete the diagram, using the information given in the question.
(4)

(b) Find (i) n(M W)

(ii) n(M′  S)
(3)

Two mice are chosen without replacement.

(c) Find P (both mice are short-tailed).

(2)
(Total 9 marks)

25
 Past Paper questions of Probability

29. When Geraldine travels to work she can travel either by car (C), bus (B) or train (T). She travels
by car on one day in five. She uses the bus 50 of the time. The probabilities of her being late
(L) when travelling by car, bus or train are 0.05, 0.12 and 0.08 respectively.

(a) Copy the tree diagram below and fill in all the probabilities, where NL represents not late,
to represent this information.
(5)

L
C

0.2 NL
L
B
NL
L
T
NL

(b) Find the probability that Geraldine travels by bus and is late.
(1)

(c) Find the probability that Geraldine is late.

(3)

(d) Find the probability that Geraldine travelled by train, given that she is late.
(3)
(Total 12 marks)

30. In a group of fifteen students, three names begin with the letter B and four begin with a G. The
remaining eight names begin with A, C, D, E, F, H, I and J respectively.

The 15 names are placed in a box. The box is shaken and two names are drawn out.

Find the probability that

(a) both names begin with any letter except G or B;

(b) both names begin with the same letter;

(c) both names begin with the letter H.

(Total 6 marks)

26
 Past Paper questions of Probability

31. Let U be the set of all positive integers from 1 to 21 inclusive.

A, B and C are subsets of U such that:

A contains all the positive integers that are factors of 21,

B is the set of multiples of 7 contained in U,
C is the set of odd numbers contained in U.

(a) List all the members of set A.

(2)

(b) Write down all the members of

(i) A B;

(ii) C'  B.
(4)

(c) Find the probability that a member chosen at random from A is also a member of
A  B  C.
(2)
(Total 8 marks)

32. Amos travels to school either by car or by bicycle. The probability of being late for school is
1 1
if he travels by car and if he travels by bicycle. On any particular day he is equally likely
10 5
to travel by car or by bicycle.

(a) Draw a probability tree diagram to illustrate this information.

(4)

(b) Find the probability that

(i) Amos will travel by car and be late.

(2)

(ii) Amos will be late for school.

(3)

(c) Given that Amos is late for school, find the probability that he travelled by bicycle.
(3)
(Total 12 marks)

27
 Past Paper questions of Probability

33. The following histogram shows the house prices in thousands of Australian dollars (AUD) of a
random sample of houses in a certain town in Australia.

(a) How many houses are there in the sample?

(b) Write down the modal group for house prices.

(c) Find the probability of choosing a house at random that costs less than 60 000 AUD or
more than 240 000 AUD.

(d) Given that a house costs more than 120 000 AUD, find the probability that it costs
between 180 000 and 240 000 AUD.

(Total 6 marks)

34. Events A and B have probabilities P(A) = 0.4, P (B) = 0.65, and P(A  B) = 0.85.

(a) Calculate P(A  B).

(b) State with a reason whether events A and B are independent.

(c) State with a reason whether events A and B are mutually exclusive.

(Total 6 marks)

28
 Past Paper questions of Probability

35. Sandra is attempting an exam question. She has to choose two correct statements from a list of
five. Below is a tree diagram showing Sandra’s possible choices. One of the probability values
is missing.

correct

—
correct 3
2
– –
incorrect 4
5

3
– correct 2
incorrect 5 –
4

2
–
incorrect 4

(a) Fill in the missing probability value on the diagram.

(b) (i) If Sandra makes two guesses, what is the probability that she will get only one of
them correct?

(ii) Sandra definitely knows the first correct statement but has to guess the second.
What is the probability that she will answer both correctly?

(Total 8 marks)

29
 Past Paper questions of Probability

36. The data in the table below refers to a sample of 60 randomly chosen plants.

Growth rate Classification by environment

 dark light shady total

high 3 8 14 25
low 8 9 18 35
total 11 17 32 60

(a) (i) Find the probability of a plant being in a shady environment.

(ii) Find the probability of a plant having a low growth rate and being in a dark
environment.

(iii) Find the probability of a plant not being in a dark environment.

(5)

(b) A plant is chosen at random from the above group.

Find the probability that the chosen plant has

(i) a high growth rate or is in a dark environment, but not both

(ii) a light environment, given that it has a high growth rate.

(4)

(c) The 60 plants in the above group were then classified according to leaf type. It was found
that 15 of the plants had type A leaves, 37 had type B leaves and 8 had type C leaves.

Two plants were randomly selected from this group. Find the probability that

(i) both plants had type C leaves

(ii) neither of the plants had type B leaves.

(5)
(Total 14 marks)

30
 Past Paper questions of Probability

37. Jim drives to work each day through two sets of traffic lights.

The probability of the first set of traffic lights being red is 0.65.

If the first set is red then the probability that the next set of traffic lights is red is 0.46.

If the first set is not red, the probability that the next set is red is 0.72.

red

red
0.65
not
red

red

not
red

not
red

(a) Complete the tree diagram above.

(b) Calculate the probability that the second set of traffic lights is red.
(Total 8 marks)

31
 Past Paper questions of Probability

38. Children in a class of 30 students are asked whether they can swim (S) or ride a bicycle (B).

There are 12 girls in the class. 8 girls can swim, 6 girls can ride a bicycle and 4 girls can do
both.

16 boys can swim, 13 boys can ride a bicycle and 12 boys can do both. This information is
represented in a Venn diagram.

U Boys Girls

S
a

4
12
B
b 2

(a) Find the values of a and b.

(2)

(b) Calculate the number of students who can do neither.

(2)

(c) Write down the probability that a student chosen at random can swim.
(2)

(d) Given that the student can ride a bicycle, write down the probability that the student is a
girl.
(2)
(Total 8 marks)

32
 Past Paper questions of Probability

39. Two identical dice have sides numbered one to six. The dice are weighted. All the numbers
except the four have equal probability of appearing on top. The four is three times as likely as
each of the other numbers to appear on top.

The tree diagram below shows some of the probabilities.

one
a
8 two
1
8
1 three
8

b
8
four

1
1 8
8 five
six

(a) Find the values of a and b in the diagram.

(b) Both dice are thrown. Calculate the probability that two fours appear on top.

(c) One of the dice is thrown once. The result is not a two or a three. What is the probability
that it is a six?

(Total 8 marks)

33
 Past Paper questions of Probability

40. There are two biscuit tins on a shelf. The red tin contains three chocolate biscuits and seven
plain biscuits. The blue tin contains one chocolate biscuit and nine plain biscuits.

(a) A child reaches into the red tin and randomly selects a biscuit. The child returns that
biscuit to the tin, shakes the tin, and then selects another biscuit.

Find the probability that

(i) both biscuits chosen are chocolate.

(2)

(ii) one of the biscuits is plain and the other biscuit is chocolate.
(3)

(b) A second child chooses a biscuit from the blue tin. The child eats the biscuit and chooses
another one from the blue tin. The tree diagram below represents the possible outcomes
for this event.

C
1
10
P
C
9
10
P

a
b
P

(i) Write down the values of a and b.

(2)

(ii) Find the probability that both biscuits are chocolate.

(1)

(iii) What is the probability that at least one of the biscuits is chocolate?
(3)

34
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(c) Suppose that before the two children arrived, their brother randomly selected one of the
biscuit tins and took out one biscuit.

Calculate the probability that this biscuit was chocolate.

(4)
(Total 15 marks)

41. The probability, p, that James gets up before 07.00 is 0.95.

If James gets up before 07.00, the probability, t, that he arrives at school on time is 0.98.
If James gets up later than 07.00, the probability that he arrives at school on time is 0.55.
The above information is represented by the following tree diagram.

t
0.98

p
0.95
not t
t
0.55
not p

not t

(a) Complete the tree diagram.

(b) Calculate the probability that James gets up before 07.00 and is on time for school.

(c) Calculate the probability that James does not arrive at school on time.

(Total 8 marks)

35
 Past Paper questions of Probability

43. Fifty students at Layton High School recorded how much money each student in their class
spent on video rentals this month (to the nearest dollar). The results are shown in the frequency
table below:

Class interval in $ Boundaries in $ Frequency

1–10 0.50–10.50 10
11–20 10.50–20.50 20
21–30 20.50–30.50 10
31–40 30.50–40.50 0
41–50 40.50–50.50 4
51–60 50.50–60.50 2
61–70 60.50–70.50 4

(a) On graph paper using a scale of 2 cm to represent each interval ($10.00) on the horizontal
axis and 1 cm to represent 5 people on the vertical axis, draw and clearly label a
frequency histogram which displays the above information.
(5)

(b) Answer the following questions:

(i) Which class is the modal class?

(ii) In which class is the median?

(2)

(c) Assuming these students spend the same amount on videos each month, find the
probability that next month a student will spend an amount in the class interval:

(i) From $21 to $30 inclusive on video rentals.

(ii) $30 or less on video rentals.

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(iii) From $41 to $60 on video rentals, given that they spent more than $20 on video
rentals.

(iv) Not more than $60 on video rentals, given that they spent over $10 on video
rentals.
(6)
(Total 13 marks)

3
44. Today Philip intends to go walking. The probability of good weather (G) is . If the weather is
4
17
good, the probability he will go walking (W) is . If the weather forecast is not good (NG)
20
1
the probability he will go walking is .
5

(a) Complete the probability tree diagram to illustrate this information.

W
17
20

G
3
4

NW
W

NG

NW

(b) What is the probability that Philip will go walking?

(Total 8 marks)

37
 Past Paper questions of Probability

45. On a particular day 100 children are asked to make a note of what they drank that day.

They are given three choices: water (W), coffee (C) or fruit juice (F)

1 child drank only water.

6 children drank only coffee.
8 children drank only fruit juice.
5 children drank all three.
7 children drank water and coffee only.
53 children drank coffee and fruit juice only.
18 children drank water and fruit juice only.

(a) Represent the above information on a Venn Diagram.

(4)

(b) How many children drank none of the above?

(2)

(c) A child is chosen at random. Find the probability that the child drank

(i) coffee;

(ii) water or fruit juice but not coffee;

(iii) no fruit juice, given that the child did drink water.
(4)

(d) Two children are chosen at random. Find the probability that both children drank all three
choices.
(3)
(Total 13 marks)

38
 Past Paper questions of Probability

46. The Venn diagram below shows the number of students studying Science (S), Mathematics (M)
and History (H) out of a group of 20 college students. Some of the students do not study any of
these subjects, 8 study Science, 10 study Mathematics and 9 study History.

S 1 M
4 A
2
1 3

3 H

(a) (i) How many students belong to the region labelled A?

(ii) Describe in words the region labelled A.

(iii) How many students do not study any of the three subjects?
(5)

(b) Draw a sketch of the Venn diagram above and shade the region which represents S   H.
(1)

(c) Calculate n(S  H).

(2)

This group of students is to compete in an annual quiz evening which tests knowledge of
Mathematics, Science and History. The names of the twenty students are written on pieces of
paper and then put into a bag.

(d) One name is randomly selected from the bag. Calculate the probability that the student
selected studies

(i) all three subjects;

(ii) History or Science.

(2)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(e) A team of two students is to be randomly selected to compete in the quiz evening. The
first student selected will be the captain of the team. Calculate the probability that

(i) the captain studies all three subjects and the other team member does not study any
of the three subjects;

(ii) one student studies Science only and the other student studies History only;

(iii) the second student selected studies History, given that the captain studies History
and Mathematics.
(5)
(Total 15 marks)

47. Heinrik rolls two 6-sided dice at the same time. One die has three red sides and three black
sides. The other die has the sides numbered from 1 to 6. By means of a tree diagram, table of
outcomes or otherwise, answer each of the following questions.

(a) How many different possible combinations can he roll?

(b) What is the probability that he will roll a red and an even number?

(c) What is the probability that he will roll a red or black and a 5?

(d) What is the probability that he will roll a number less than 3?

(Total 8 marks)

48. The sets A, B and C are subsets of U. They are defined as follows:

U = {positive integers less than 16}

A = {prime numbers}

B = {factors of 36}

C = {multiples of 4}

40
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(a) List the elements (if any) of the following:

(i) A;

(ii) B;

(iii) C;

(iv) A  B  C.
(4)

(b) (i) Draw a Venn diagram showing the relationship between the sets U, A, B and C.

(ii) Write the elements of sets U, A, B and C in the appropriate places on the Venn
diagram.
(4)

(c) From the Venn diagram, list the elements of each of the following

(i) A  (B  C);

(ii) (A  B);

(iii) (A  B)  C.
(3)

(d) Find the probability that a number chosen at random from the universal set U will be

(i) a prime number;

(ii) a prime number, but not a factor of 36;

(iii) a factor of 36 or a multiple of 4, but not a prime number;

(iv) a prime number, given that it is a factor of 36.

(6)
(Total 17 marks)

41
 Past Paper questions of Probability

49. A teacher has a box containing six type A calculators and four type B calculators.

The probability that a type A calculator is faulty is 0.1 and the probability that a type B
calculator is faulty is 0.12.

(a) Complete the tree diagram given below, showing all the probabilities.

FAULTY
0.1

type A
0.6
NOT FAULTY

FAULTY
0.4
type B

NOT FAULTY

(b) A calculator is selected at random from the box. Find the probability that the calculator is

(i) a faulty type A;

(ii) not faulty.

(Total 4 marks)

42
 Past Paper questions of Probability

50. Let F be the set of all families that have exactly 2 children.

(a) Assuming P(boy) = P(girl), copy and complete the following tree diagram, for families
with 2 children.

Boy

Boy
1
2
Girl
Boy

Girl

Girl
(2)

(b) What is the probability that a family chosen at random from F has exactly

(i) 2 boys?

(ii) 2 boys, if it is known that the first child is a boy?

(iii) 2 boys, if it is known that there is a boy in the family?

(3)
(Total 5 marks)

43
 Past Paper questions of Probability

51. A bag contains two red sweets and three green sweets. Jacques takes one sweet from the bag,
notes its colour, then eats it. He then takes another sweet from the bag.

Complete the tree diagram below to show all probabilities.

Red

Red
2
5

Green

Red
2
4
Green

Green

(Total 4 marks)

52. In a survey of 52 students it was found that 30 study Spanish and 15 have computers. Seven of
the students who study Spanish also have computers.

(a) Copy and complete this table.

Study Do not study

Spanish Spanish Total
Have computers
Do not have computers
Total 52
(3)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(b) Draw and label fully a Venn diagram to illustrate this information. Use U to represent the
set of all students surveyed, S the set of students who study Spanish and C the set of
students who have computers.

(2)

(c) Describe, in words, the set represented by C  S .

(2)

(d) Find n(C  S ).

(1)

A student is selected at random to attend a computer workshop given in Spanish.

(e) What is the probability that the student

(i) has a computer and studies Spanish?

(2)

(ii) as a computer but does not study Spanish?

(2)

(iii) as a computer if he/she studies Spanish?

(2)
(Total 14 marks)

45
 Past Paper questions of Probability

53. On a certain game show, contestants spin a wheel to win a prize, as shown in the diagram. The
larger angles are 40° (the shaded sectors), and the smaller angles are 20°.

No Prize WD
No Prize
GH

GH
No Prize

No Prize
WD

CAR
No Prize
WD No Prize

Find the probability that a contestant

(a) will not win a prize;

(b) will win a holiday in Greece (GH);

(c) will win a washer/dryer (WD), given that he knows that he has won a prize;

(d) will win a holiday in Greece or a washer/dryer.

(Total 4 marks)

54. Of a group of five students, two will be selected to visit the United Nations. The five students
are John, Maria, Raul, Henri and Susan.

(a) With the aid of a tree diagram or a table of outcomes, find the number of different
possible combinations of students that could go to the United Nations.

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(b) Find the probability that both Maria and Susan will go on the trip.

(Total 4 marks)

55. A group of 25 females were asked how many children they each had. The results are shown in
the histogram below.

Number of Children per Female

10
9
8
7
6
5
Frequency
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4
Number of Children

(a) Show that the mean number of children per female is 1.4.
(2)

(b) Show clearly that the standard deviation for this data is approximately 1.06.
(3)

(c) Another group of 25 females was surveyed and it was found that the mean number of
children per female was 2.4 and the standard deviation was 2. Use the results from parts
(a) and (b) to describe the differences between the number of children the two groups of
females have.
(2)

(d) A female is selected at random from the first group. What is the probability that she has
more than two children?
(2)

47
 Past Paper questions of Probability

(e) Two females are selected at random from the first group. What is the probability that

(i) both females have more than two children?

(2)

(ii) only one of the females has more than two children?
(3)

(iii) the second female selected has two children given that the first female selected had
no children?
(1)
(Total 15 marks)

56. Nene and Deka both play netball. The probability that Nene will score a goal on her first attempt
is 0.75. The probability that Deka will score a goal on her first attempt is 0.82.

Calculate the probability that

(a) Nene and Deka will both score a goal on their first attempts;

(b) neither Nene nor Deka will score a goal on their first attempts.

(Total 4 marks)

57. In a club with 60 members, everyone attends either on Tuesday for Drama (D) or on Thursday
for Sports (S) or on both days for Drama and Sports.

One week it is found that 48 members attend for Drama and 44 members attend for Sports and x
members attend for both Drama and Sports.

(a) (i) Draw and label fully a Venn diagram to illustrate this information.
(3)

(ii) Find the number of members who attend for both Drama and Sports.
(2)

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 Past Paper questions of Probability

(iii) Describe, in words, the set represented by (D  S)'.

(2)

(iv) What is the probability that a member selected at random attends for Drama only or
Sports only?
(3)

The club has 28 female members, 8 of whom attend for both Drama and Sports.

(b) What is the probability that a member of the club selected at random

(i) is female and attends for Drama only or Sports only?

(2)

(ii) is male and attends for both Drama and Sports?

(2)
(Total 14 marks)

58. Two jars contain a number of coloured balls as indicated in the diagrams below.

2 Black 2 Black
3 White 1 White

Jar One Jar Two

Two experiments are carried out.

First Experiment: A jar is first chosen at random and then a ball is drawn from that jar.

(a) Draw, and label fully, a tree diagram to show all possible outcomes of this experiment.
(2)

(b) What is the probability that a white ball is drawn?

(3)

49
 Past Paper questions of Probability

Second Experiment: The ball drawn in the first experiment is not replaced. A second ball is then
drawn from the same jar.

(c) What is the probability that both balls are white?

(2)
(Total 7 marks)

59. Members of a certain club are required to register for one of three games, billiards, snooker or
darts.

The number of club members of each gender choosing each game in a particular year is shown
in the table below.

Billiards Snooker Darts

Male 39 16 8
Female 21 14 17

The following year the choice of games was widened and the figures for that year are as
follows:

Billiards Snooker Darts Fencing

Male 4 15 8 10
Female 10 21 17 37

50
 Past Paper questions of Probability

A club member is to be selected at random.

(c) What is the probability that the club member selected is a

(i) female who chose billiards or snooker?

(ii) male or female who chose darts or fencing?

(2)
(Total 17 marks)

60. The table below shows the relative frequencies of the ages of the students at Ingham High
School.

Age Relative
(in years) frequency
13 0.11
14 0.30
15 0.23
16 0.21
17 0.15
Total 1

(a) If a student is randomly selected from this school, find the probability that

(i) the student is 15 years old;

(ii) the student is 16 years of age or older.

There are 1200 students at Ingham High School.

(b) Calculate the number of 15 year old students.

(Total 4 marks)

51
 Past Paper questions of Probability

61. The table below shows the number of left and right handed tennis players in a sample of 50
males and females.

Left handed Right handed Total

Male 3 29 32
Female 2 16 18
Total 5 45 50

If a tennis player was selected at random from the group, find the probability that the player is

(a) male and left handed;

(b) right handed;

(c) right handed, given that the player selected is female.

(Total 4 marks)

62. Note: For this question, it is important that you show your working and explain your method
clearly.

A box contains 10 coloured light bulbs, 5 green, 3 red and 2 yellow. One light bulb is selected at
random and put into the light fitting of room A.

(a) What is the probability that the light bulb selected is

(i) green?
(1)

(ii) not green?

(1)

A second light bulb is selected at random and put into the light fitting in room B.

(b) What is the probability that

(i) the second light bulb is green given the first light bulb was green?
(l)

(ii) both light bulbs are not green?

(2)

(iii) one room has a green light bulb and the other room does not have a green light

52
 Past Paper questions of Probability

bulb?
(3)

A third light bulb is selected at random and put in the light fitting of room C.

(c) What is the probability that

(i) all three rooms have green light bulbs?

(2)

(ii) only one room has a green light bulb?

(3)

(iii) at least one room has a green light bulb?

(2)
(Total 15 marks)

63. It is known that 5% of all AA batteries made by Power Manufacturers are defective. AA
batteries are sold in packs of 4.

Find the probability that a pack of 4 has

(a) exactly two defective batteries;

(3)

(b) at least one defective battery.

(2)
(Total 5 marks)

64. A bag contains 2 red, 3 yellow and 5 green sweets.

Without looking, Mary takes one sweet out of the bag and eats it. She then takes out a second
sweet.

(a) If the first sweet is green, what is the probability that the second sweet is also green?

(b) If the first sweet is not red, what is the probability that the second sweet is red?

(Total 4 marks)

53
 Past Paper questions of Probability

65. In a school, 180 pupils are asked which is their favourite outdoor sport in winter. The pie chart
shows the result of the survey. The diagram is not accurately drawn.

Hockey
Football (43)
(56)

Rugby
Other (38)

Netball
(34)

(a) Calculate the angle of the sector representing rugby.

(b) Estimate the probability that a pupil’s favourite outdoor sport in winter will be hockey.

(Total 4 marks)

54