Probability is mathematically random. Knowing how to calculate the probability of an event or events happening can be a valuable skill when making decisions in daily life. How you calculate probability changes, however, depending on the type of event you are looking to occur. For example, you would not calculate your chances of winning the lottery the same way you would calculate your chances of drawing a full house in a game of poker. Once you determine whether the events are independent, conditional, or mutually exclusive, calculating their probability is very simple. Therefore, you can completely show and explain to your children some examples of probability in daily life.
Mathematical probability is expressed in fractions (½) and percentages (50%). Once you know the probability, you can determine the likelihood of an event, which falls along this range:
– certain (probability of 1, the highest possible likelihood) – likely (probability between ½ and 1) – even chance (probability of ½) – unlikely (probability between 0 and ½) – impossible (probability of 0, the lowest possible likelihood)
1. Weather Forecasting
Before planning for an outing or a picnic, we always check the weather forecast. Suppose it says that there is a 60% chance that rain may occur. Do you ever wonder where this 60% come from?
Meteorologists use a specific tool and technique to predict the weather forecast. They look at all the other historical databases of the days, which have a similar temperature, humidity, pressure, etc. And determine that on 60 out of 100 similar days in the past, it had rained.
2. Lottery Tickets
Winning a lottery is one of the most interesting examples of probability. In a typical Lottery game, each player chooses six distinct numbers from a particular range. If all the six numbers on a ticket match with that of the winning lottery ticket, the ticket holder is a Jackpot winner- regardless of the order of the numbers. The probability of this happening is 1 out of 10 lakh (A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000))
3. Flipping a coin or Dice
Flipping a coin is one of the most important events before the start of the match. There is no surety, either head will come or not. Both head and tail have 1 out of 2, i.e., 50% chances to occur. Hence, the probability of getting the desired outcome is 0.5. Similarly, while playing with dice, there are 1 out of 6 chances that the required number will come.
4. Playing Cards
There is a probability of getting a desired card when we randomly pick one out of 52. For example, the probability of picking up an ace in a 52 deck of cards is 4/52; since there are 4 aces in the deck. The odds of picking up any other card is therefore 1 – 4/52 = 48/52.
At Everest, we let students learn and play with probability in daily life from a very early age. Therefore, they gain a strong foundation and understand how to make decisions most efficiently.
