Discussing the Probability - Research Paper Example

The solution to this question is almost certain to be 3/8. This may be argued out in the following manner: we can assume that the three coins are all balanced so that the probability of each of the 8 possible outcomes, which are regarded as simple events, is 1/8. Given the fact that experiment B has three sample points, it can occur in three different ways so that the probability becomes 3/8 (Roussas 32).

            This approach clearly expresses the intuitive reasoning behind the definition of the concept of probability provided two conditions are met. These two requirements include: first, that the sample space S defines a finite number of outcomes, that is S = [s1, s2,…., sn]and that each one of these outcomes has an equal chance of occurring or that they have the same chance of occurring each time the relevant random experiment is conducted. This reasoning is based on the underlying symmetry. Therefore, we can say that each of the simple events, denoted by [si], i = 1,…, n is considered to have a probability of 1/n. If this is the case then the next step becomes the definition of the probability of a composite event A, which is: if several sample points say m make up A, that is A = {si1,…, sim} so that {1< m < n} then the probability of A can be stated as m/n. This can be expressed using the notation: P({s1}) = … = P({sn}) = 1/n. that is P(A) = m/n. In the actual sense, this notation has been referred to as the classical definition of probability (Roussas 32).

The classical definition of probability