What is probability?

Question

probability

Answer 1

probability is the percent chance you will get that choice, for example the coin had a head and a tail, try flip it in several times and write the times the outcome of the faces, that is probability

Answer 2

Probability is the measure of how likely it is something will occur. Accurately calculating the probability involves knowing all the relevant variables and how each affects the probability of the main event.

Answer 3

A number that measures the frequency at which a particular event occurs when compared to all other possible events.

Answer 4

Probability is the measure of how likely it is for an event to occur. The probability of an event is always expressed as a number between zero and 1 or else as a percentage between zero and 100%.

Simply put, the formula for probability is this:

Probability equals the number of favorable outcomes divided by the number of possible outcomes. Using this formula for a coin flip, the number of favorable results is one (heads) and the number of total results is two (heads or tails). Therefore 1  divided by 2 = .5  Probability can be expressed as a scale from 0 to 1, with 0 being impossible and 1 being certain.

Often probabilities are expressed as a percentage. To do this simply divide the favorable outcomes by the total outcomes and multiply by 100. 1 divided by 2 =.5 times 100 = 50%.

Probability is a valid mathematical concept and can be applied to any situation if all the possible outcomes can be determined.

However in many cases in real life all possible outcomes often cannot be determined, such as predicting the winner in a football game.  

And keep in mind that probability is always based on a single event. In that coin flip the odds are ALWAYS 50% of heads being flipped, even if heads has been flipped 20 times in a row!

Answer 5

Odds.  Over time things will happen in a balanced manner.  If you roll craps for example.  Over thousands and thousands of throws you will see that a 7 will come up close to 1 time every 6 rolls.  This is based on the different number of possible combinations of numbers that can turn up with 2 dice.  To understand this a little easier, imagine rolling one die.  You could expect that each time you roll the die, that you would have a one-in-six chance of rolling any given number.  This would give you odds of one in six or a probability of the same.  

Take note - as a point of interest - that probability and or odds are only CLOSE to accurate OVER A VERY LONG PERIOD OF TIME.  In the short run, you will notice a LOT of repeats or streaks that SEEM to defy the "odds" or probability that such a thing could happen.