5.1.1

Probability Scale

Test yourself

Probability Scales

In maths, you can say how likely something is to happen. This is called probability. You may be asked to place an event on a probability scale.

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A probability scale

  • A probability scale runs from ‘impossible’ to ‘certain’.
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Placing events on the scale

  • You will be asked to place certain events on the scale, depending on how likely they are to happen.
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Example A

  • I will live to be 300.
    • It's impossible to live to be 300. So you would place A at the impossible end of the scale.
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Example B

  • Thursday follows Wednesday.
    • Thursday always follows Wednesday. So you would place 'B' at the certain end of the scale.
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Example C

I will win £500,000 tomorrow.

  • There's a very small chance you could win £500,000 tomorrow, but it's very unlikely. So you would place C very near the impossible end of the scale.
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Example D

  • I will flip a coin and it will land on tails.
    • There are 2 sides to a coin - heads and tails. So there is an even chance of this happening.

Jump to other topics

1Angles

2Fractions

3Time

4Prime Numbers

4.1Prime Numbers

5Probability

6Ratio

6.1Ratios

7Sequences

8Area & Perimeter

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