Probability

Probability is used to indicate a possibility of an event to occur. It is often used synonymously with
chance.

 In any experiment if the result of an experiment is unique or certain, then the experiment is
said to be deterministic in nature.
 If the result of the experiment is not unique and can be one of the several possible outcomes
then the experiment is said to be probabilistic in nature.

Various Terms Used in Defining Probability

(i) Random Experiment: Whenever an experiment is conducted any number of times under identical
conditions and if the result is not certain and is any one of the several possible outcomes, the
experiment is called a trial or a random experiment, the outcomes are known as events.
eg, When a die is thrown is a trial, getting a number 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 is an event.
(ii) Equally Likely Events: Events are said to be equally likely when there is no reason to expect any
one of them rather than any one of the others.
eg, When a die is thrown any number 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 may occur. In this trial, the six events
are equally likely.
(iii) Exhaustive Events: All the possible events in any trial are known as exhaustive events. eg, When
a die is thrown, there are six exhaustive events.
(iv) Mutually Exclusive Events: If the occurrence of any one of the events in a trial prevents the
occurrence of any one of the others, then the events are said to be mutually exclusive events. eg,
When a die is thrown the event of getting faces numbered 1 to 6 are mutually exclusive.

Classical Definition of Probability

If in a random experiment, there are n mutually exclusive and equally likely elementary events in
which n elementary events are favourable to a particular event E, then the probability of the event E is
defined as P (E)

• If the probability of occurrence of an event E is P(E) and the probability of non-occurrence is P, then,

the sum of the probabilities of success and failure is 1. Also,

0 ≤ P(E) ≤ 1 and 0 ≤ P ≤ 1.
• If P(E) = 1, the event E is called a certain event and if P(E) = 0, the event E is called an impossible
event.
• If E is an event, then the odds in favour of E are defined as P(E) : P(E) and the odds against E are
defined

as P(E): P. Hence, the odds in favour of E are the odds against E are

Addition Theorem on Probability

Independent and Dependent Events

 Simple Event : An event which cannot be further split is called a simple event. The set of all
simple events in a trial is called a sample space.
  Compound Event : When two or more events occur in relation with each other, they are
called compound events.
 Conditional Event: If El and E2 are events of a sample space S and if E2 occurs after the
occurrence of El, then the event of occurrence of E2 after the event El is called conditional
event of E2 given El. It is denoted by E2/El.

‘Smart’ Facts

 When a die is rolled six events occur. They are {1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6}
 When two dice are rolled 36 events occur. They are [(1,1), (1,2), (1,3), (1,4), (1,5), (1,6), (2,1),
(2,2), (2,3), (2,4), (2,5), (2,6), (3,1), (3,2), (3,3), (3,4), (3,5), (3,6), (4,1), (4,2), (4,3), (4,4), (4,5),
(4,6), (5,1), (5,2), (5,3), (5,4), (5,5), (5,6), (6,1), (6,2), (6,3), (6,4), (6,5), (6,6)]
 When a coin is tossed 2 events occur. They are {H, T}
 When two coins are tossed 4 events occur. They are {HH, HT, TH, T T}
 When three coins are tossed 8 events occur. They are {HHH HHT, HTH, HT T, T HH, THT, T
TH, T T T}
 In a pack of 52 cards there are 26 red cards and 26 black cards. The 26 red cards are divided
into 13 heart cards and 13 diamond cards. The 26 black cards are divided into 13 club cards
and 13 spade card. Each of the colours, hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades is called a suit.
In a suit, we have 13 cards (ie, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2)

Logical Venn Diagrams (MCQ )

In the following diagram, the circle represents College Professors, the triangle stands for
Surgical Specialists, and Medical Specialists are represented by the rectangle.

1. College Professors who are also Surgical Specialists are represented by

(1) A
(2) B
(3) C
(4) D
(5) Z
a)d
2. Surgical Specialists who are also Medical Specialists but not Professors are represented by
(1) B
(2) X
(3) X
(4) Z
(5) Y
a)z
3. C represents
(1) Medical Specialists
(2) College Professors
(3) Surgical Specialists
(4) Mecial and Surgical Specialists
(5) None of these

a)3
4. B represents
(1) Professors who are neither Medical nor Surgical Specialists
(2) Professors who are not Surgical Specialists
(3) Medical Specialists who are neither Professors nor Surgical Specialists
(4) Professors who are not Medical Specialists
(5) None of these
a)3
5. College Professors who are also Medical Specialists are represented by
(1) A
(2) X
(3) Y
(4) Z
(5) None of these
a)x
Study the diagram given belo to answer these questions:

The triangle in the above figure depicts women in villages, the square depicts the unemployed
women and the circle dcepicts the educated women.
6. Educated employed women in villages are represented by
(1) D
(2) E
(3) F
(4) G
(5) B
a)g
7. What does letter D represent?
(1) Uneducated women in villages
(2) Unemployed women in villages who are not educated
(3) Educated unemployed women
(4) Educated employed women
(5) None of these
a)2
8. In the following figure, the boys who are athletes and disciplined are indicated by which
number. The triangle represents girls, the circle athletes, the rectangle boys and the square
disciplined.
(1) 1
(2) 2
(3) 6
(4) 10
(5) None of these
a)2

Simple Interest
It is the sum which is paid by the borrower to the lender for using the money for a specific time period.
The money borrowed is called the Principal. The rate at which the interest is calculated on the
principal is called Rate of Interest. The time for which the money is borrowed is Time and the total
sum of principal and interest is called the Amount.
Simple Interest
If P = Principal, R = Rate per cent per annum T = Number of years, SI = Simple Interest and A =
Amount. Then,

Here, the interest is calculated on the original principal ie, the principal to calculate the interest
remains constant throughout the time period. The interest earned on the principal is not taken into
account for the purpose of calculating interest for later years.

Compound Interest
In compound interest, the interest is added to the principal at the end of each period and the amount
thus obtained becomes the principal for the next period. The process is repeated till the end of the
specified time.
If P = Principal,
R = Rate per cent per annum
Time = Number of years,
CI = Compound Interest
A = Amount. Then,
When the interest is compounded annually
Important Formulae
1. If the rate of interest differs from year to year ie, R1 in the first year, R2 in the second year, R3 in
the third year.

Then
2. When the principal changes every year, we say that the interest is compounded annually. Then,

3. When the principal changes as per every six months, we say that the interest is compounded half
yearly or semi-annually. Then,

4. When the principal changes every three months, we say that the interest is compounded quarterly.
Then,

5. When the principal changes after every month, we say that the interest is compounded monthly.
Then,

6. When the interest is compounded annually but time is in fraction say year.

7. The difference between the simple interest and compound interest for 2 year (or terms) is given by
the formula
Where D is the difference, P is the principal and R is the rate of interest.
8. Present worth of x ` due n years, hence is given by

Simple & Compound Interest (MCQ )

1. An automobile financier claims to be lending money at simple interest, but he includes the
interest every six months for calculating the principal. If he is charging an interest of 10%, the
effective rate of interest becomes:
1. 13%
2. 10.25%
3. 15%
4. 11%
5. None of these
A)2
2. A sum of money at simple interest amounts to Rs. 815 in 3 years and to Rs. 854 in 4 years.
The sum is:
1. Rs. 850
2. Rs. 790
3. Rs. 698
4. Rs. 800
5. Rs. 600
A)3

3. Sum of money becomes Rs. 13,380 after 3 years and Rs. 20,070 after 6 years on compound
interest. The sum is:
1. Rs. 9200
2. Rs. 9000
3. Rs. 8920
4. Rs. 9040
5. Rs. 9500
A)3

4. A sum of Rs. 12,000 deposited at compound interest becomes double after 5 years. After 20
years, it will become:
1. Rs. 1,10,000
2. Rs. 1,30,000
3. Rs. 1,24,000
4. Rs. 1,92,000
5. Rs. 1,50,000
A)4

5. A sum of money placed at compound interest doubles itself in 5 years. It will amount to
eight times itself at the same rate of interest in:
1. 7 years
2. 12 years
3. 15 years
4. 30 years
5. 21 years
A)3

6. If a sum on compound interest becomes three times in 4 years, then with the same interest
rate, the sum will become 27 times in:
1. 11 years
2. 12 years
3. 24 years
4. 38 years
5. 21 years
A)2

7. The least number of complete years in which a sum of money put out at 20% compound
interest will be more than doubled is:
1. 7
2. 4
3. 5
4. 8
5. 7
A)2

8. A man borrows Rs. 2550 to be paid back with compound interest at the rate of 4% per
annum by the end of 2 years in two equal yearly instalments. How much will each instalment
be?
1. Rs.1275
2. Rs.1383
3. Rs.1352
4. Rs.1287
5. Rs.1250
A)3

9. What annual payment will discharge a debt of Rs. 1025 due in 2 years at the rate of 5%
compound interest?
1. Rs.650
2. Rs.551.25
3. Rs.560
4. Rs.660.75
5. Rs.600
A)2

10. A man borrows Rs. 12,500 at 20% compound interest. At the end of every year he pays Rs.
2000 as part repayment. How much does he still owe after three such instalments?
1. Rs.14,000
2. Rs.13,684
3. Rs.15,600
4. Rs.14,320
5. None of these
A)5

Number, Ranking and Time Sequence Test (MCQ )

1. In a row of boys, A is fifteenth from the left and B is fourth from the right. There are three
boys between A and B. C is just left of A. What is C's position from the right?
(1) 9th ( r)
(2) 10th
(3) 12th
(4) 13th
(5) None of these
2. Rohit is seventeenth from the left end of a row of 29 boys and Karan is seventeenth from the
right end in the same row. How many boys are there between them in the row?
(1) 3 (r)
(2) 5
(3) 6
(4) Data inadequate
(5) None of these
3. In a row of forty children, P is thirteenth from the left end and Q is ninth from the right end.
How many children are there between P and R if R is fourth to the left of Q?
(1) 12
(2) 13
(3) 14 (r)
(4) 15
(5) None of these
4. In a class of 35 students, Kunal is placed seventh from the bottom whereas Sonali is placed
ninth from the top. Pulkit is placed exactly in between the two. What is Kunal's position from
Pulkit?
(1) 9
(2) 10 (r)
(3) 11
(4) 13
(5) None of these
5. Richard is fifteenth from the front in a column of boys. There were thrice as many behind
him as there were in front. How many boys are there between Richard and the seventh boy
from the end of the column?
(1) 33
(2) 34
(3) 35
(4) Data inadequate
(5) None of these
6. Forth boys are standing in a row facing the North. Amit is eleventh from the left and Deepak
is thirty-first from the right end of the row. How far will Shreya, who is third to the right of Amit
in the row, be from Deepak?
(1) 2nd
(2) 3rd
(3) 4th
(4) 5th
(5) None of these
7. In a class, among the passed students, Amisha is twenty-second from the top and Sajal,
who is 5 ranks below Amisha, is thirty-fourth from the bottom. All the students from the class
have apeared for the exam. If the ratio of the students who passed in the exam to those who
failed is 4 : 1 in that class, how many students are there in the class?
(1) 60
(2) 75
(3) 90
(4) Data inadequate
(5) None of these
8. In a queue, A is eighteenth from the front while B is sixteenth from the back. If C is
twentyfifth from the front and is exactly in the middle of A and B, then how many persons are
there in the queue?
(1) 45
(2) 46
(3) 47
(4) 48
(5) None of these
9. N ranks fifth in a class. S is eighth from the last. If T is sixth after N and just in the middle of
N and S, then how many students are there in the class?
(1) 23
(2) 24
(3) 25
(4) 26
(5) None of these
10. If the second day of a month is a Friday, which of the following would be the last day of the
next month which has 31 days?
(1) Sunday
(2) Monday
(3) Tuesday
(4) Data inadequate
(5) None of these