In this explainer, we will learn how to find the probabilities of the complement, intersection, and union of events.
We will begin this explainer by introducing some key probability definitions, together with their representation on a Venn diagram.
Definition: The Complement of Events
The complement of an event in a sample space , denoted or , is the collection of all outcomes in that are not elements of the set . In other words, is the event that does not occur.
The probability rule for complements states that
The complement of event , , can be represented on a Venn diagram as shown below.
Definition: The Intersection of Events
The intersection of events and , denoted , is the collection of all outcomes that are elements of both of the sets and . In other words, is the event that both and occur.
The intersection of events and , , can be represented on a Venn diagram as shown below.
Definition: The Union of Events
The union of events and , denoted , is the collection of all outcomes that are elements of one or the other of the sets and , or of both of them. In other words, is the event that or or both and occur.
The union of events and , , can be represented on a Venn diagram as shown below.
The definitions of the intersection and union of events lead us to an important rule of probability.
Formula: Additive Rule of Probability
This can be demonstrated using the following Venn diagrams.
The above information leads us to six further formulae that we can use to solve problems involving probability and their respective Venn diagrams.
Firstly, we have the complement of the union of events and :
Secondly, we have the complement of the intersection of events and :
Next, we consider the probability of exactly one event occurring.
Firstly, there is the probability of event occurring and event not occurring. This is the intersection of event and the complement of event :
And we have the corollary to this formula:
Our last two formulae are the complement of the difference formulae:
We will now look at a couple of examples where we can use the rules of probability to calculate probabilities of complements, intersections, and unions of events.
Example 1: Using the Addition Rule to determine the Probability of the Union of Two Events
Denote by and two events with probabilities and . Given that , find .
Answer
We begin by recalling that the additive rule of probability states that
So,
We could also demonstrate this on a Venn diagram. To complete all sections of the diagram, we recall that
So,
Likewise,
So,
We then have that and therefore,
Example 2: Using the Addition Rule to Determine the Probability That Neither of the Events Occur
Suppose and are two events with probability and . Given that , what is the probability that neither of the events occur?
Answer
We begin by recalling that the additive rule of probability states that
So,
In other words, the probability that or or both and occurs is 0.7.
The probability of neither event nor occurring is the complement of the union of events and , as shown in the Venn diagram below.
So, and therefore,
Example 3: Using the Addition Rule to Determine the Probability of the Union of Two Events
Suppose that and are two events with probabilities and .
Given that , determine .
Answer
We begin by recalling that the sum of the probability of an event occurring together with its complement equals 1:
Since then
Next, we recall that the additive rule of probability states that
So,
Therefore,
In our next example, we will use the additive rule for probability to answer a contextual question.
Example 4: Determining the Probability of the Union of Two Events
A group of 68 school children completed a survey asking about their television preferences. The results show that 43 of the children watch channel , 26 watch channel , and 12 watch both channels. If a child is selected at random from the group, what is the probability that they watch at least one of the two channels?
Answer
Firstly, we are told that 43 out of the 68 school children surveyed watch channel ; therefore, the probability of selecting a child at random that watches channel is
Secondly, 26 out of the 68 school children surveyed watch channel ; therefore, the probability of selecting a child at random that watches channel is
Finally, 12 out of the 68 school children surveyed watch both channel and channel ; therefore, the probability of selecting a child at random that watches both channels is
Next we recall that the additive rule of probability states that
So,
We could also demonstrate this on a Venn diagram. To complete all sections of the diagram, we recall that
So,
Likewise,
So,
We then have that and therefore,
In our next example, we will use the additive rule for probability to calculate an unknown variable, .
Example 5: Determining the Probability of the Union of Two Events
and are two events in a sample space of a random experiment and . The probability that at most one of or occurs is 0.56. The probability that at least one of or occurs is 0.68. Find the probability that occurs OR does not occur.
Answer
We can begin by letting , so that .
As the probability that at least one of or occurs is 0.68, .
For at most one of or to occur, either can occur, can occur, or neither. This means that both and cannot occur at the same time, so the probability that at most one of or occurs is given by the complement of the intersection of these, . Hence, .
We know that
So,
The additive rule of probability states that
So,
Therefore, and .
We need the probability that occurs OR does not occur, which can be written as . This is equal to .
Since then
And as then
The probability that occurs OR does not occur is 0.81.
We will finish this explainer by recapping some of the key points.
Key Points
- The complement of an event in a sample space , denoted or , is the collection of all outcomes in that are not elements of the set .
- The intersection of events and , denoted , is the collection of all outcomes that are elements of both of the sets and .
- The union of events and , denoted , is the collection of all outcomes that are elements of one or the other of the sets and or of both of them.
- The additive rule of probability states that
- Other rules of probability include
- We can use these rules together with Venn diagrams to calculate probabilities of complements, intersections, and unions and to solve problems in context.