MathBench > Probability

Laws of AND and OR

The Law of OR


The chances of one event OR another event occurring
=
the sum of the chances of each event separately.

In somewhat shorter form, let's call the first event E1 and the second event E2. In this case E1 would be winning the washer-dryer, E2 would be winning the toaster. And let's abbreviate "the probability of E1" to simply P(E1). Then we can say:

P(E1 or E2) = P(E1) + P(E2)

This looks a lot more official and impressive, but remember that the basic idea is, add the chances together if you want to know the probability of one thing or another thing.

 

What is the probability of winning any of the non-tropical-getaway prizes?getaway

Prize

Chances

Washer-dryer

5%

Toaster Oven

10%

Tropical Getaway

1%

Pet Rock

84%

 

 

(To make this problem interactive, turn on javascript!)

I think I have the answer: 5% + 10% + 84% = 99%