23.4 Combined events and tree diagrams — Practise with help
Work each question first. Open the hint if you need it, then reveal the working to check.
Warm-up: remember
Try these from memory before opening the answers.
- What is ?
- List the outcomes of two coin tosses.
Check
- . 2. HH, HT, TH, TT.
Practise with help
1. A fair coin is tossed twice. Find the probability of exactly two tails.
Hint
List the four equally likely outcomes. Which one has two tails?
Full working
Only TT has two tails. Its probability is .
2. A fair die is rolled twice. Find the probability of two numbers less than 3.
Hint
The results less than 3 are 1 and 2. The two rolls are independent.
Full working
For each roll the probability is . Multiply: .
3. A fair coin is tossed twice. Find the probability of at least one head.
Hint
Find the probability of no heads, then subtract it from 1.
Full working
Use the complement: .
4. A bag contains 4 red and 3 blue counters. One counter is drawn and not replaced. Find the probability of red then blue.
Hint
After a red counter is removed, count the blue counters and the total counters left.
Full working
The probabilities are for red first and for blue next. Multiply: .