Question

Determine which of the following numbers could not represent the probability of an event. Explain your reasoning. (a). 33.3% (b). -1.5 (c). 0.0002 (d). 0 (e). 320/1058 (f). 64/25

Answer 1

Answer:

B and F

Step-by-step explanation:

The simple golden rule that we need to know here is

"The probability of any event is always between 0 and 1 inclusive"

If an event has a probability of p(x), we can say:

$0 \leq p(x) \leq 1$

Also, probability is ALWAYS POSITIVE.

Thus,

A) OK because 33.3% is 0.333, which is between 0 and 1

B) NOT OK, because probability isn't negative

C) 0.0002 is in between 0 and 1, so possible

D) 0 probability means it can't happen, so that's okay as well

E) this is a fraction with numerator less than denominator, which means its between 0 and 1, so OK

F) this fraction's numerator is greater than denominator, so it's greater than 1. Probability can't be greater than 1, so NOT OK

Out of these B and F cannot represent the probability of an event