How do you solve a probability math problem?

Answer 1

To solve a probability problem remember the basics:

In a set of equally likely outcomes (e1, e2, E3, e4, ... , en) where e = outcome, n = last number, the probability that one will occur is 1/n. The probability that it won't occur is 1 - 1/n or (n-1)/n. If the likeliness of the outcomes vary, then another factor is accounted for. Think (l1 x e1, l2 x e2, l3 x e3, ... , ln x en) where l = how often the element shows up. The probability that an event will occur is l/(sum of set).

For independent outcomes (l1 x d1, l2 x d2, ... , ln x dn) and (L1 x e1, L2 x e2, ... , Ln x en), the probability that you will reach a certain outcome in set one and a certain outcome in set two is (l/(sum of set d)) x (L/(sum of set e)).

Finally you should be familiar with counting principles such as factorial (!) which means: n! = n x (n - 1) x (n - 2) x ... x 1