Four commonly used probability diagrams are tables of outcomes, Venn diagrams, probability tables and tree diagrams.
Table of outcomes
A table of outcomes tabulates all possible outcomes when the sample space is finite and not large.
For a coin toss followed by a six-sided die roll:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tail | (T,1) | (T,2) | (T,3) | (T,4) | (T,5) | (T,6) |
| Head | (H,1) | (H,2) | (H,3) | (H,4) | (H,5) | (H,6) |
Venn diagrams
A Venn diagram visualises relationships among subsets of the sample space, especially when more than two events are involved.
Label the probability of each region. Then apply set operations, De Morgan's laws, union formulae and total probability as appropriate.
Probability tables
A probability table represents two sets of mutually exclusive and exhaustive events.
| Event | \(A\) | \(A'\) | Total Probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| \(B\) | \(w\) | \(x\) | \(w+x\) |
| \(B'\) | \(y\) | \(z\) | \(y+z\) |
| Total Probability | \(w+y\) | \(x+z\) | \(w+x+y+z=1\) |
\[P(A)=w+y,\quad P(A')=x+z,\quad P(B)=w+x,\quad P(B')=y+z\]\[P(A\cap B)=w,\qquad P(A'\cap B')=z\]
\[P(B\mid A)=\frac{P(A\cap B)}{P(A)}=\frac{w}{w+y},\qquad P(B'\mid A)=\frac{y}{w+y}\]\[P(B\mid A')=\frac{x}{x+z},\qquad P(B'\mid A')=\frac{z}{x+z}\]
Exam check: for \(P(B\mid A)\), divide by the total of the \(A\) column, not by \(1\). The given event fixes the denominator.
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