Learn how to calculate your chances with easy-to-understand explanations of probability
Probability—the likelihood or chance of an event occurring—is an important branch of mathematics used in business and economics, finance, engineering, physics, and beyond. We see probability at work every day in areas such as weather forecasting, investing, and sports betting. Packed with real-life examples and mathematical problems with thorough explanations, Probability For Dummies helps students, professionals, and the everyday reader learn the basics. Topics include set theory, counting, permutations and combinations, random variables, conditional probability, joint distributions, conditional expectations, and probability modeling. Pass your probability class and play your cards right, with this accessible Dummies guide.
- Understand how probability impacts daily life
- Discover what counting rules are and how to use them
- Practice probability concepts with sample problems and explanations
- Get clear explanations of all the topics in your probability or statistics class
Probability For Dummies is the perfect Dummies guide for college students, amateur and professional gamblers, investors, insurance professionals, and anyone preparing for the actuarial exam.
Table of Content
Introduction 1
Part 1: The Certainty of Uncertainty: Probability Basics 5
Chapter 1: The Probability in Everyday Life 7
Chapter 2: Coming to Terms with Probability 17
Chapter 3: Picturing Probability: Venn Diagrams, Tree Diagrams, and Bayes’ Theorem 41
Part 2: Counting on Probability and Betting to Win 67
Chapter 4: Setting the Contingency Table with Probabilities 69
Chapter 5: Applying Counting Rules with Combinations and Permutations 79
Chapter 6: Against All Odds: Probability in Gaming 107
Part 3: From A to Binomial: Basic Probability Models 133
Chapter 7: Probability Distribution Basics 135
Chapter 8: Juggling Success and Failure with the Binomial Distribution 159
Chapter 9: The Normal (but Never Dull) Distribution 177
Chapter 10: Approximating a Binomial with a Normal Distribution 201
Chapter 11: Sampling Distributions and the Central Limit Theorem 213
Chapter 12: Estimating and Doing Hypothesis Tests with Probability 233
Part 4: Taking It Up a Notch: Advanced Probability Models 245
Chapter 13: Working with the Poisson (a Nonpoisonous) Distribution 247
Chapter 14: Covering All the Angles of the Geometric Distribution 263
Chapter 15: Making a Positive out of the Negative Binomial Distribution 273
Chapter 16: Remaining Calm about the Hypergeometric Distribution 287
Part 5: For the Hotshots: Continuous Probability Models 299
Chapter 17: Staying in Line with the Continuous Uniform Distribution 301
Chapter 18: The Exponential (and Its Relationship to Poisson) Exposed 315
Part 6: The Part of Tens 329
Chapter 19: Ten Steps to a Better Probability Grade 331
Chapter 20: Top Ten (or So) Probability Mistakes 341
Appendix: Tables for Reference 351
Index 361
About the author
Deborah J. Rumsey, Ph D, is a Professor of Teaching Practice at The Ohio State University. Dr. Rumsey is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and the author of several For Dummies titles, including Statistics For Dummies and Statistics Workbook For Dummies.
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