The Map of Possibilities
Welcome, students. Today, we are going to explore a beautiful problem in probability. Imagine a sample space, which we will represent as a bounding rectangle.
Inside this rectangle, we have two events, A and B. We are given the following information:
P(A∪B)=43
P(A∩B)=41
* P(Aˉ)=32
Let's set up our visual stage and solve this step by step.
Unlocking the Hidden Variable
Our first goal is to find the probability of event A happening. We are given the probability of A bar, denoted as P(Aˉ).
Since an event either happens or it does not, the sum of these probabilities is always exactly one. We use the complement rule:
P(A)=1−P(Aˉ)
Substituting our given value:
P(A)=1−32=31
This is our first solid building block.
The Addition Theorem
The Bridge
Moving forward, we need to find the probability of event
B. To do this, we use the Addition Theorem of probability:
P(A∪B)=P(A)+P(B)−P(A∩B)
We subtract the intersection because adding A and B counts the overlapping region twice. We are given P(A∩B)=41, which represents this crucial overlap.
Now, substitute all known values into the Addition Theorem:
43=31+P(B)−41
To isolate
P(B), we rearrange the terms:
P(B)=43+41−31
Since
43+41=1, the expression simplifies to:
P(B)=1−31=32
The Final Bite
Now, we calculate the target probability: P(Aˉ∩B). Physically, this represents the region where event B occurs, but event A does not.
Visually, this is the region strictly inside
B excluding the intersection with
A. The formula is:
P(Aˉ∩B)=P(B)−P(A∩B)
Substituting our calculated values:
P(Aˉ∩B)=32−41
Using the common denominator of
12:
P(Aˉ∩B)=128−3=125
The final answer is 125. Probability is not just about numbers; it is about understanding the geometry of chance.