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What Is Probability?
Probability is about figuring out how likely it is that something will happen. The probability that something will happen can be high or low. For example, the probability of winning the lottery is very low. The probability of your leg breaking tomorrow is not very high.
If there’s a good chance that something is going to happen, we say that there’s a high probability that an event will occur.
There may also be a small chance that something will happen. Then we say that there is a low probability that event will occur. Even though there’s a high probability of an event occurring, it does not necessarily mean that it will happen. It is precisely this uncertainty that probability is trying to estimate.
If you go on holiday to Florida, you know that the chance of it snowing is pretty small. Then we say that the probability of it snowing during your holiday is very low.
If you go on holiday to the Arctic, you know that it’s pretty likely that it will snow. Then we say that the probability of it snowing during your holiday is very high.
Think About This
It’s important to keep in mind that even if there is a very small chance that things will happen to you, there is still a very high chance that it might happen to someone else.
The probability of winning the jackpot in the lottery is close to 1 in , so there’s very little chance of winning. Nevertheless, almost every week we hear on the news that someone has won the jackpot.
