Probability

What is probability?


Probability is all about the likelihood of something occurring. In math we say that something 'has a probability of occurring' and to do this we give the event a numerical value to indicate how likely it is to happen.

If something has a zero probability of occurring then that means it definitely cannot happen.

If something has a probability of 1 or 100% of occurring then it means it definitely will happen.

In fact, all events will have a probability of occurring somewhere from 0 to 1!

The probability of an event happening is equal to ...


So, if we think about flipping a coin - what's the probability it will be heads?

Well, it can only be heads if it lands heads facing up - so the number of times the event can occur is 1.

How many possible events can occur though? Well, it could be heads or tails so there are 2 possible events which could occur.

So, the probability of the coin flip resulting in heads is ...