Q.Determine P(E∣F). A coin is tossed three times, where
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Conditional Probability
Roll a die and ask "what is the chance of an even number?" — that is 3/6. But suppose someone tells you the result is greater than 3. Now you are no longer looking at all six faces, only at {4,5,6}, and two of those (4 and 6) are even, so the probability becomes 2/3. That change — from the probability of A to the probability of A given that B has already occurred — is conditional probability.
The Idea: Shrink the Sample Space
Conditioning on B throws away every outcome where B is false and treats B as the new "whole world." You measure A only against what is still possible.
Think of filtering a table of data: unconditional probability uses every row; conditional probability keeps only the rows where the condition is true.
The Definition
For events A and B with P(B)>0,
P(A∣B)=P(B)P(A∩B).
We divide by P(B) to rescale so that B itself has probability 1; the surviving part of A is the overlap A∩B. Checking the die: P(A∩B)=P({4,6})=62 and P(B)=63, so P(A∣B)=3/62/6=32, matching the intuition.
Rearranging gives the multiplication rule P(A∩B)=P(A∣B)P(B), which is usually the easier way to compute a joint probability when a problem says "given that."
Two Cautions
- P(A∣B) and P(B∣A) are generally not equal; swapping them is the classic mistake. They are linked by Bayes' theorem, P(A∣B)=P(B)P(B∣A)P(A). …
Concept: Conditional Probability — P(E∣F)=P(F)P(E∩F), provided P(F)>0.
(i) Sample space has 8 equally likely outcomes.
F={HHH,HHT}, so P(F)=82=41.
E∩F={HHH}, so P(E∩F)=81. …
Conditional probability P(E∣F) is found by restricting the sample space to outcomes where F occurs, then counting how many of those also satisfy E. For (i) P(E∣F)=21,
(ii) P(E∣F)=73,
(iii) P(E∣F)=76.
The Core Idea: Conditional Probability
When we write P(E∣F), we are asking: If we already know that F has happened, what is the chance that E also happens? The key is that the sample space shrinks — we only consider outcomes where F is true. Then P(E∣F) is simply the fraction of those F-outcomes that also belong to E.
Mathematically:
P(E∣F)=P(F)P(E∩F)=n(F)n(E∩F)
where the second equality holds when all outcomes are equally likely (as they are with a fair coin).
Let’s work through each part.
(i) E: head on third toss, F: heads on first two tosses
Step 1: List the sample space.
Tossing a coin three times gives 23=8 equally likely outcomes:
{HHH,HHT,HTH,HTT,THH,THT,TTH,TTT}
Step 2: Identify F.
F = heads on first two tosses. That means the first two positions are both H. The third can be anything. So:
F={HHH,HHT}
Only 2 outcomes.
Step 3: Identify E∩F.
E = head on third toss. Among F, which outcomes have a head on the third toss? Only HHH. So:
E∩F={HHH}
That’s 1 outcome.
Step 4: Compute P(E∣F).
P(E∣F)=n(F)n(E∩F)=21
Notice that the first two tosses being heads gives no information about the third toss — the coin is fair and tosses are independent. So P(E∣F)=P(E)=21 directly. The calculation confirms this.
(ii) E: at least two heads, F: at most two heads
Step 1: List outcomes for F.
“At most two heads” means 0, 1, or 2 heads. That’s every outcome except the one with 3 heads (HHH). So:
F={HHT,HTH,HTT,THH,THT,TTH,TTT}
That’s 7 outcomes.
Step 2: List outcomes for E.
“At least two heads” means 2 or 3 heads:
E={HHH,HHT,HTH,THH}
That’s 4 outcomes.
Step 3: Find E∩F.
We need outcomes that are in both E and F. Since F excludes HHH, the intersection is:
E∩F={HHT,HTH,THH}
That’s 3 outcomes.
Step 4: Compute P(E∣F).
P(E∣F)=73 …
Method: Conditional probability by counting a coin-toss sample space
Use this whenever a fair coin is tossed a fixed number of times and you must find P(E∣F) for events described in words such as "head on the third toss", "at least two heads", or "at most two tails".
Steps
Step 1: Write the equally-likely sample space.
Tossing a coin n times gives 2n equally likely ordered outcomes (for n=3 that is the eight strings HHH,HHT,…,TTT). Because every outcome has the same probability, you may work with counts instead of probabilities:
P(E∣F)=P(F)P(E∩F)=n(F)n(E∩F).
Step 2: Translate each verbal event into an outcome set.
Convert the words carefully — "at least two heads" = 2 or 3 heads, "at most two heads" = every outcome except all-heads, "at least one tail" = every outcome except all-heads. Listing (or using the complement) avoids miscounting. …
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: In part (ii), dividing by 8 (the full sample space) instead of 7.
Why it's wrong: once F (at most two heads) is given, HHH becomes impossible, so the world shrinks to 7 outcomes, not 8. Correct approach: use P(E∣F)=n(F)n(E∩F)=73, never 8n(E∩F).
Mistake 2: Counting HHH inside E∩F in part (ii).
Why it's wrong: HHH has three heads, so it fails "at most two heads" and is not in F; including it gives a wrong 74. Correct approach: E∩F={HHT,HTH,THH} only, so the count is 3. …
Showing the 12 most recent of 69 on this concept.
- AP EAPCET 2022Set eng-2022-07-06-AN1 markMCQQ.An unbiased coin is tossed 3 times. If the third toss gets head, then the probability of getting at least one more head is (A) 3/4 (B) 1/4 (C) 1/2 (D) 1/3
›Reveal solutionSolution
This tests recognizing conditional independence: given the third toss's outcome, the first two tosses remain independent unbiased flips, so their probability is unaffected by the condition. Answer: 3/4.
Concept and Intuition
Since coin tosses are independent events, knowing the outcome of the third toss (head) gives us no information about the first two tosses. So the question really just asks: what's the probability of getting at least one head in two independent fair coin tosses? This is most easily computed via the complement (no heads at all in two tosses).
Step-by-Step Solution
- The condition 'the third toss gets head' is independent of the outcomes of the first two tosses (each coin toss is independent of the others).
- So conditioning on the third toss being heads doesn't change the probabilities for the first two tosses — they remain two independent fair coin flips.
- We want P(at least one head among the first two tosses).
- Use the complement: P(no heads in first two tosses)=P(both tails)=21×21=41.
- So P(at least one head)=1−41=43.
Common Mistakes …
- AP EAPCET 2022Set eng-2022-07-06-FN1 markMCQQ.If E and F are events such that P(Fˉ)=0.7 and P(E∩F)=0.2, then P(E∣F) is (A) 2/3 (B) 1/3 (C) 3/4 (D) 1/4
›Reveal solutionSolution
This tests the basic conditional-probability formula together with the complement rule. P(E∣F)=2/3.
Concept and Intuition
P(E∣F) asks: given that F has already happened, what fraction of that reduced sample space does E∩F occupy? It is always P(F)P(E∩F), so first we need P(F) itself, which is given indirectly through its complement.
Step-by-Step Solution
- P(Fˉ)=0.7⇒P(F)=1−0.7=0.3.
- P(E∩F)=0.2 is given directly. …
- AP EAPCET 2025Set eng-2025-05-22-AN1 markMCQQ.There are three families F1,F2,F3. F1 has 2 boys and 1 girl; F2 has 1 boy and 2 girls; F3 has 1 boy and 1 girl. A family is randomly chosen and a child is chosen from that family randomly. If it is known that the child thus selected is a girl, then the probability that she is from F2 is (A) 94 (B) 92 (C) 73 (D) 75
›Reveal solutionSolution
Applying Bayes' theorem across the three equally-likely families gives P(F2∣girl)=94.
Concept and Intuition
This is a textbook application of Bayes' theorem: we're given the reverse conditional probabilities (family → probability of picking a girl) and asked for the forward one (girl picked → probability she's from a specific family).
Step-by-Step Solution
- Prior: P(F1)=P(F2)=P(F3)=31.
- P(girl∣F1)=31 (1 girl out of 3 children), P(girl∣F2)=32, P(girl∣F3)=21.
- Total probability: P(girl)=31⋅31+31⋅32+31⋅21=31(31+32+21)=31⋅62+4+3=31⋅69=21
- P(F2∩girl)=31⋅32=92. …
- AP EAPCET 2021Set eng-2021-08-24-AN1 markMCQQ.A box contains n coins, m of which are fair and the rest are biased. When a biased coin is tossed, the probability of getting a head is twice as likely as tail. A coin is drawn from the box at random and is tossed twice. It is found that first time it shows head and the second time it shows tail. Then the probability that the coin drawn is fair is (A) 8n+m7m (B) 8n+m9m (C) 8m+n7m (D) 8m+n9m
›Reveal solutionSolution
This is a Bayes'-theorem problem; computing the likelihoods for fair vs. biased coins and combining with the prior m/n gives 8n+m9m.
Concept and Intuition
Bayes' theorem updates our belief about which "type" of coin was drawn, given the observed outcome (head then tail), by weighing each type's prior probability by how likely it was to produce that exact outcome.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Fair coin: P(H)=P(T)=21, so P(HT∣fair)=21⋅21=41.
- Biased coin: head is twice as likely as tail, so P(H)=32,P(T)=31; P(HT∣biased)=32⋅31=92.
- Priors: P(fair)=nm, P(biased)=nn−m. …
- AP EAPCET 2024Set eng-2024-05-20-FN1 markMCQQ.A, B, C are mutually exclusive and exhaustive events of a random experiment and E is an event that occurs in conjunction with one of the events A, B, C. The conditional Probabilities of E given the happening of A, B, C are respectively 0.6, 0.3 and 0.1. If P(A)=0.30 and P(B)=0.50, then P(C∣E)= (A) 352 (B) 3515 (C) 3518 (D) 3517
›Reveal solutionSolution
This is a direct Bayes' theorem application over three mutually exclusive, exhaustive causes; P(C∣E)=2/35.
Concept and Intuition
When an event E can occur alongside any of several mutually exclusive, exhaustive causes A,B,C, Bayes' theorem lets us find the probability of a particular cause given that E has occurred, by weighing each cause's prior probability by how likely E is under it, then normalizing.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Since A,B,C are mutually exclusive and exhaustive, P(C)=1−P(A)−P(B)=1−0.30−0.50=0.20.
- Total probability of E: P(E)=P(E∣A)P(A)+P(E∣B)P(B)+P(E∣C)P(C) =0.6(0.30)+0.3(0.50)+0.1(0.20)=0.18+0.15+0.02=0.35 …
- AP EAPCET 2026Set eng-2026-05-15-FN1 markMCQQ.For a biased die, the probabilities for different faces to turn up are given belowThe die is tossed and you are told that either face 1 or 2 has turned up. Then the probability that it is face 1 is (A) 3310 (B) 215 (C) 218 (D) 421
Face 1 2 3 4 5 6 Probability 0.1 0.32 0.21 0.15 0.05 0.17 ›Reveal solutionSolution
Conditioning on "face 1 or face 2" just means renormalizing the two individual probabilities so they add to 1.
Concept and Intuition
P(face 1∣face 1 or 2)=P(face 1)+P(face 2)P(face 1), since these two events are mutually exclusive and their union is the conditioning event.
Step-by-Step Solution
- P(1)=0.1, P(2)=0.32.
- P(1 or 2)=0.1+0.32=0.42.
- P(1∣1 or 2)=0.420.1=4210=215.
Common Mistakes …
- AP EAPCET 2025Set eng-2025-05-23-AN1 markMCQQ.A die is thrown twice. Let A be the event of getting a prime number when the die is thrown first time and B be the event of getting an even number when the die is thrown second time. Then P(A/Bˉ)= (A) 21 (B) 32 (C) 51 (D) 53
›Reveal solutionSolution
Since A and B (hence Bˉ) come from two independent throws of the die, conditioning on Bˉ does not change P(A); the answer is 1/2.
Concept and Intuition
When two events are determined by physically independent trials (first throw vs second throw of a die), any conditional probability between them collapses to the unconditional probability — conditioning on an independent event changes nothing.
Step-by-Step Solution
- A: prime number on the first throw, i.e. outcome in {2,3,5}, so P(A)=63=21.
- B: even number on the second throw, i.e. outcome in {2,4,6}, so P(B)=21, and P(Bˉ)=21 (odd on the second throw). …
- AP EAPCET 2024Set eng-2024-05-23-FN1 markMCQQ.It is given that in a random experiment events A and B are such that P(A)=41, P(A∣B)=21 and P(B∣A)=32 then P(B)= (A) 31 (B) 32 (C) 21 (D) 61
›Reveal solutionSolution
Using P(B∣A) to find P(A∩B), then dividing by P(A∣B), gives P(B)=31.
Concept and Intuition
The conditional probability definitions P(A∣B)=P(B)P(A∩B) and P(B∣A)=P(A)P(A∩B) share the common quantity P(A∩B) — computing it from one equation lets us solve the other for the unknown probability.
Step-by-Step Solution
- From P(B∣A)=P(A)P(A∩B)=32, and P(A)=41: P(A∩B)=32×41=61.
- From P(A∣B)=P(B)P(A∩B)=21: P(B)=P(A∣B)P(A∩B)=1/21/6=31.
Common Mistakes …
- AP EAPCET 2023Set eng-2023-05-16-AN1 markMCQQ.Two dice are rolled. If A denote the event that the same number shows on each die and B denote the event that the sum of the numbers on both dice is greater than 7, then P(A∣B) and P(B∣A) respectively are (A) 52,41 (B) 51,21 (C) 51,41 (D) 21,53
›Reveal solutionSolution
Counting the 36 equally likely dice outcomes directly gives P(A∣B)=51 and P(B∣A)=21.
Concept and Intuition
With two fair dice there are 36 equally likely outcomes, so every probability here reduces to simple counting: enumerate the outcomes in A, in B, and in A∩B, then apply the conditional probability formula P(X∣Y)=P(Y)P(X∩Y) directly as a ratio of counts.
Step-by-Step Solution
- A = "same number on each die": outcomes (1,1),(2,2),(3,3),(4,4),(5,5),(6,6) — 6 outcomes, so P(A)=366.
- B = "sum >7", i.e. sum ∈{8,9,10,11,12}. Counting pairs per sum: sum 8 has 5 pairs, 9 has 4, 10 has 3, 11 has 2, 12 has 1 — total 5+4+3+2+1=15 outcomes, so P(B)=3615.
- A∩B: doubles with sum >7 — check each double: (4,4) sum 8 ✓, (5,5) sum 10 ✓, (6,6) sum 12 ✓; (1,1),(2,2),(3,3) have sums 2,4,6, all ≤7 — excluded. So A∩B has 3 outcomes, P(A∩B)=363. …
- AP EAPCET 2026Set eng-2026-05-12-FN1 markMCQQ.A die is thrown three times. If the sum of the numbers thrown is 15, then the probability that the first throw was a Four, is (A) 61 (B) 51 (C) 1085 (D) 1081
›Reveal solutionSolution
A conditional probability found by directly counting favourable die-triples against all triples summing to the given total.
Concept and Intuition
P(first=4∣sum=15)=#{triples with sum=15}#{triples with first=4, sum=15} — a straightforward application of conditional probability by counting, since all 63 triples are equally likely.
Step-by-Step Solution
- If the first throw is 4, the other two throws (each from 1 to 6) must sum to 15−4=11.
- Pairs of dice summing to 11: (5,6) and (6,5) — 2 ways.
- Now count all triples (a,b,c), each in 1–6, with a+b+c=15. Substitute a′=6−a,b′=6−b,c′=6−c (each in 0–5): then a′+b′+c′=18−15=3.
- Number of non-negative integer solutions to a′+b′+c′=3 is (23+2)=10; since 3<5 none violate the upper bound of 5, so all 10 are valid.
- So there are 10 triples with sum 15 in total. …
- AP EAPCET 2026Set eng-2026-05-15-AN1 markMCQQ.If it is known that a woman has two children and she has at least one girl child, the probability that the woman has both girl children is (A) 41 (B) 31 (C) 32 (D) 21
›Reveal solutionSolution
This is a classic conditional-probability trap: conditioning on "at least one girl" (not "the elder/first child is a girl") leaves 3 equally likely outcomes, of which 1 is both-girls, giving 31.
Concept and Intuition
With two children, birth order matters for counting equally likely outcomes: BB,BG,GB,GG, each with probability 1/4. The event "at least one girl" is a set of outcomes, not a statement about a specific (e.g. first) child, so it correctly removes only BB and keeps three outcomes, not two. This distinguishes it from the simpler (and different) question "given the elder child is a girl," which would leave only {GB,GG} and give probability 1/2.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Sample space (ordered by birth, say elder-younger): {BB,BG,GB,GG}, each with probability 41.
- Event E = "at least one girl" = {BG,GB,GG}, so P(E)=43. …
- AP EAPCET 2022Set eng-2022-07-06-FN1 markMCQQ.Two persons P and Q are considering to apply for a job. The probability that P applies for the job is 1/4, the probability that P applies for the job given that Q applies for the job is 1/2, and the probability that Q applies for the job given that P applies for the job is 1/3. Then the probability that P does not apply for the job given that Q does not apply for the job is (A) 4/5 (B) 5/6 (C) 7/8 (D) 11/12
›Reveal solutionSolution
Chain the given conditional probabilities to find P(Q) and P(P∩Q), then use the complement rule — the answer is (A) 4/5.
Concept and Intuition
Conditional probability definitions let us cross-multiply to recover the joint probability P(P∩Q) from either conditional. Once P(P),P(Q),P(P∩Q) are all known, De Morgan's law converts "neither event" into the complement of the union.
Step-by-Step Solution
- Given: P(P)=41, P(P∣Q)=21, P(Q∣P)=31.
- P(P∩Q)=P(Q∣P)⋅P(P)=31×41=121.
- Also P(P∩Q)=P(P∣Q)⋅P(Q)⇒121=21⋅P(Q)⇒P(Q)=61.
- P(P∪Q)=P(P)+P(Q)−P(P∩Q)=41+61−121=123+122−121=124=31.
- By De Morgan's law, "neither P nor Q applies" is the complement of P∪Q: P(P∩Q)=1−31=32.
- P(Q)=1−P(Q)=1−61=65. …
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