STATISTICS AND

PROBABILITY
Lecture 4
Random Experiments
• An experiment that can result in different outcomes, even
though it is repeated in the same manner every time.

Figure 1. Relationship
of input; controlled
and noise variables;
and output.
Sample Spaces of the Experiment
• Sample Spaces of the Experiment
• set of all possible outcomes of a random experiment

• Discrete Sample space

• consists of a finite or countable infinite set of outcomes

• Continuous Sample space

• if it contains an interval (either finite or infinite) of real numbers
Examples
• Two gas stations are located at a certain intersection.
Each one has six gas pumps. Consider the experiment in
which the number of pumps in use at a particular time of
day is determined for each of the stations. Determine the
sample spaces.

• Consider an experiment in which you select a molded

plastic part, such as a connector, and measure its
thickness. If it is known that all connectors will be between
10 and 11 millimeters thick, the sample space can be
represented by .
Sample Spaces of the Experiment
• Sample Spaces with Replacement
• Example: if the batch consists of three items {a, b, c} and our
experiment is to select two items without replacement, the sample
space can be represented as

• Sample Spaces without Replacement

• Example: if the batch consists of three items {a, b, c} and our
experiment is to select two items with replacement, the sample
space can be represented as
Event
• Event
• any collection (subset) of outcomes contained in the sample
space. An event is simple if it consists of exactly one outcome and
compound if it consists of more than one outcome.

• Example:
• Three samples of resistors is taken from a batch of 1000 resistors.
The objective of the experiment is to determine whether each
resistor is defective or not. Determine the sample space of the
experiment. Determine also:
• The event that exactly one of the three is defective
• The event that atmost one of the resistors is defective
• The event that all the resistor is not defective
Set Theory
• The union of two events is the event that consists of all outcomes
that are contained in either of the two events. We denote the union
as E1  E2.

• The intersection of two events is the event that consists of all

outcomes that are contained in both of the two events. We denote
the intersection as E1  E2.

• The complement of an event in a sample space is the set of

outcomes in the sample space that are not in the event. We
denote the component of the event E as E’.

• Mutually Exclusive Event/Disjoint Event

• Two events, denoted as E1 and E2, such that E1  E2 =  = null
Example
• For the events, A = {0, 1, 2, 3,4}, B = {3, 4, 5, 6} and C =
{1, 3, 5}, determine A’, A  B, A  C, A  B, A  C, A B
 C, (A C)’
Operation of Events
• (E’)’ = E

• Distributive law
• (A  B)  C = (A  C)  (B  C)
• (A  B)  C = (A  C)  (B  C)

• DeMorgan’s law
• (A  B)’ = A’  B’
• (A  B)’ = A’  B’
• AB=BA
• AB=BA
Example
• Two connectors are selected from a batch and measured
in order to determine whether these are inconformity with
the standard.
• What will be the sample space?
• Supposed that we denote that atleast one part conforms
to the standard as event E1 and no part conforms as E2,
determine:
• E1  E2
• E1  E2
• E1’ and E2’
Determination of Sample Spaces:
Counting Techniques
• The Multiplication Principle/Product Rule
• applies to any situation in which a set (event) consists of ordered
pairs of objects and we wish to count the number of such pairs

• Consider,
• n1 outcomes of a random experiment E1
• n2 outcomes of a random experiment E2 and
• nm outcomes of a random experiment Em

• then there are n1 × n2 × ... × nm outcomes of the

composite experiment E1, E2 ... Em.
Example
• A homeowner doing some remodeling requires the
services of both a plumbing contractor and an electrical
contractor. If there are 12 plumbing contractors and 9
electrical contractors available in the area, in how many
ways can the contractors be chosen?
Determination of Sample Spaces:
Counting Techniques
• Permutation
• A permutation of n objects is an ordered arrangement of
the n objects.

• Suppose there are n positions to be filled with n different

objects, in which there are:

• n choices for the 1st position

• n − 1 choices for the 2nd position
• n − 2 choices for the 3rd position
• ... and ...
• 1 choice for the last position

• nPn = n × (n − 1) × (n − 2) × ... × 1 = n!
Example
• There are ten student assistants available for grading
papers in a calculus course at a large university. The first
exam consists of four questions, and the professor wishes
to select a different assistant to grade each question (only
one assistant per question). In how many ways can the
assistants be chosen for grading?
Determination of Sample Spaces:
Counting Techniques
• The number of unordered subsets, called a combination
of n objects taken r at a time, is:

𝑛!
• nCr =
𝑟! 𝑛−𝑟 !

• We say “n choose r.”

Example
• Five bottles is to be chosen from a batch of 100 bottles for
quality analysis. In how many ways can you choose the
sample?