Q.A letter is known to have come either from TATA NAGAR or from CALCUTTA. On the envelope, just two consecutive letters TA are visible. What is the probability that the letter came from TATA NAGAR.
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🔒 Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →Concept understanding — Conditional Probability
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). …
The key idea is conditional probability: we compare the frequency of the visible clue "TA" in each city's name.
Step 1 – Count total occurrences of "TA" as consecutive letters
- In TATA NAGAR: the consecutive pairs are TA, AT, TA, (space), NA, AG, GA, AR. "TA" appears twice (positions 1-2 and 3-4).
- In CALCUTTA: the consecutive pairs are CA, AL, LC, CU, UT, TT, TA. "TA" appears once (positions 6-7).
Step 2 – Apply conditional probability
Let T = event that "TA" is visible, C = event letter is from TATA NAGAR.
We want P(C∣T). Assuming both cities equally likely a priori: …
Counting how often the pair "TA" occurs among all consecutive letter-pairs of each name and applying Bayes' theorem gives P(TATA NAGAR∣TA)=117.
Let E1 = "from TATA NAGAR" and E2 = "from CALCUTTA," with equal priors P(E1)=P(E2)=21. Let A = "the two visible consecutive letters are TA." The chance of seeing TA in a name equals (number of TA pairs) / (number of consecutive pairs).
1. TATA NAGAR (letters TATANAGAR, 9 letters ⇒8 consecutive pairs):
TA, AT, TA, AN, NA, AG, GA, AR.
"TA" occurs twice, so P(A∣E1)=82=41.
2. CALCUTTA (letters CALCUTTA, 8 letters ⇒7 consecutive pairs):
CA, AL, LC, CU, UT, TT, TA.
"TA" occurs once, so P(A∣E2)=71.
3. Bayes' theorem. …
Method: Bayes' theorem with counting-based likelihoods
Use this for "which source is more likely given an observed clue" problems where the likelihood of the clue must be obtained by counting how it can appear in each source.
Steps
Step 1: Assign priors
With no reason to prefer either source, take equal priors, e.g. P(source1)=P(source2)=21.
Step 2: Get each likelihood by counting
The chance of seeing the clue in a given name is …
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Counting single letters instead of the pair
Why it's wrong: the clue is the consecutive pair "TA", so counting how many T's or A's appear is irrelevant. Correct approach: scan adjacent letter-pairs and count matches of the whole pair.
Mistake 2: Miscounting the number of consecutive pairs
Why it's wrong: a 9-letter name has 8 adjacent pairs and an 8-letter name has 7; using the letter count instead skews every likelihood. Correct approach: use (length −1) pairs per name. …
Showing the 12 most recent of 24 on this concept.
- GUJCET 2022Set 081 markMCQQ.Probability that A speaks truth is 54. A coin is tossed. A reports that a head appears. The probability that actually there was head is ______. (A) 52 (B) 54 (C) 51 (D) 21
›Reveal solutionSolution
A truthful reporter (p = 4/5) on a fair coin makes the reported head almost as reliable as their honesty.
Concept. Bayes' theorem: P(H∣R)=P(R∣H)P(H)+P(R∣T)P(T)P(R∣H)P(H).
Solution. P(H)=P(T)=21. A reports head truthfully with prob 54 (if head) and lies with prob 51 (if tail). …
- GUJCET 2025Set 031 markMCQQ.A man is known to speak truth 4 out of 5 times. He throws a die and reports that it is a six. The probability that actually there was a six is (A) 95 (B) 94 (C) 355 (D) 354
›Reveal solutionSolution
P(six∣reports six)=P(6)P(T)+P(not 6)P(lie)P(6)P(T).
Let P(6)=61, P(not 6)=65, truth =54, lie =51. …
- GUJCET 2021Set 151 markMCQQ.If P(A)=116, P(B)=115 and P(A∪B)=117, then P(BA)= (A) 54 (B) 32 (C) 114 (D) 112
›Reveal solutionSolution
Get P(A and B) from inclusion-exclusion, then divide by P(B).
Concept. P(A∩B)=P(A)+P(B)−P(A∪B) and P(A∣B)=P(B)P(A∩B). …
- GUJCET 2025Set 031 markMCQQ.Let A and B be two events such that P(A)=83, P(B)=85 and P(A∪B)=43. Then P(A′∣B)−P(A∣B)= _____. (A) 51 (B) 53 (C) 52 (D) 54
›Reveal solutionSolution
P(A∩B)=P(A)+P(B)−P(A∪B), then use conditional probabilities on B.
P(A∩B)=83+85−43=1−43=41. …
- GUJCET 2026Set x1 markMCQQ.If A and B are any two events such that P(A)+P(B)−P(A and B)=P(A), then ______ (A) P(B∣A′)=1 (B) P(B∣A)=0 (C) P(A∣B)=1 (D) P(A∣B)=0
›Reveal solutionSolution
Simplify the given relation to find P(A∩B)=P(B), i.e. B⊆A effectively.
Given P(A)+P(B)−P(A and B)=P(A), which reduces to:
P(B)−P(A∩B)=0⇒P(A∩B)=P(B). …
- GUJCET 2019Set 171 markMCQQ.If 6P(A)=8P(B)=14P(A∩B)=1, then P(BA′)= (A) 74 (B) 53 (C) 73 (D) 52
›Reveal solutionSolution
With P(A)=61,P(B)=81,P(A∩B)=141: P(A′∣B)=1−P(B)P(A∩B)=73.
Concept: From 6P(A)=8P(B)=14P(A∩B)=1: P(B)=81, P(A∩B)=141. …
- GUJCET 2026Set x1 markMCQQ.Let A and B be two events such that P(A)=115, P(B)=112 and P(A∪B)=113, then P(A′∣B′)= ______ (A) 98 (B) 53 (C) 21 (D) 92
›Reveal solutionSolution
[!TLDR] P(A′∣B′)=1−P(B)1−P(A∪B)=98.
Concept
By De Morgan's law A′∩B′=(A∪B)′, so P(A′∩B′)=1−P(A∪B). Then the conditional probability is P(A′∣B′)=P(B′)P(A′∩B′) with P(B′)=1−P(B).
Solution …
- GUJCET 2020Set 071 markMCQQ.If A and B are any two events such that P(A)+P(B)−P(A∩B)=P(A) then ________. (A) P(AB)=1 (B) P(BA)=0 (C) P(AB)=0 (D) P(BA)=1
›Reveal solutionSolution
P(A)+P(B)−P(A∩B)=P(A) forces P(A∩B)=P(B), meaning B is contained in A, so P(A/B)=1.
Concept. Rearrange the given equation: P(B)−P(A∩B)=0⇒P(A∩B)=P(B).
Step. Conditional probability: P(A/B)=P(B)P(A∩B)=P(B)P(B)=1. …
- GUJCET 2026Set x1 markMCQQ.Three cards are drawn successively, without replacement from a pack of 52 well shuffled cards. The probability that first two cards are kings and the third card drawn is an ace is ______ (A) 1352001 (B) 55252 (C) 55253 (D) 1352003
›Reveal solutionSolution
Multiply the successive conditional probabilities for drawing without replacement.
First card king: 524. Second card king (3 kings left of 51): 513. Third card ace (4 aces still present of 50): 504. …
- GUJCET 2021Set 151 markMCQQ.If A and B are two events such that P(A)=0 and P(AB)=1, then (A) B⊂A (B) B=∅ (C) A=∅ (D) A⊂B
›Reveal solutionSolution
[!TLDR] Melatonin is a pineal hormone controlling circadian rhythm, not the menstrual cycle. Estrogen, progesterone and relaxin are all reproductive hormones linked to the ovarian cycle.
Concept
In NCERT/CBSE-aligned human reproduction, the menstrual cycle is regulated by pituitary hormones (FSH, LH) and ovarian hormones. Estrogen (secreted by the growing follicle) causes the proliferative phase; progesterone (from the corpus luteum) maintains the secretory endometrium; and relaxin, also a corpus-luteum/reproductive hormone, prepares reproductive tissues. Melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland, governs the day–night biological clock and is not a menstrual-cycle hormone.
Solution
Evaluate each option: …
- GUJCET 2024Set 131 markMCQQ.If A and B are two events such that P(B)=0 and P(A∣B)=1, then __________. (A) B=ϕ (B) B⊂A (C) A=ϕ (D) A⊂B
›Reveal solutionSolution
P(A∣B)=1 forces P(A∩B)=P(B), meaning B⊂A.
Concept. By definition P(A∣B)=P(B)P(A∩B).
Steps. Given P(A∣B)=1 and P(B)=0,
P(B)P(A∩B)=1⇒P(A∩B)=P(B). …
- GSEB Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) Examination 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.If P(A/B)>P(A), then which of the following is true?(a) P(B∣A)<P(B)(b) P(A∩B)<P(A)⋅P(B)(c) P(B∣A)>P(B)(d) P(B∣A)=P(B)
›Reveal solutionSolution
Convert the given inequality into one about the joint probability, then flip it around to get P(B∣A).
P(A∣B)>P(A)⇒P(B)P(A∩B)>P(A)⇒P(A∩B)>P(A)P(B).
…
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