emont
hi i thought or means you have to add the probabilty of each?
Bunuel
If you roll one fair six-sided die, what is the probability that the number is even or less than 4?
(A) 1/6
(B) 1/3
(C) 2/ 3
(D) 3/4
(E) 5/6
The probability of getting a number less than 4 is 1/2 (1,
2, or 3), and the probability of getting an even number is also 1/2 (
2, 4, or 6). However, both of these probabilities include the number 2, which is both even and less than 4, so its probability (1/6) gets counted twice. To avoid double counting, we subtract the probability of rolling a 2:
1/2 + 1/2 - 1/6 = 5/6.
You should have noticed that adding 1/2 + 1/2 gives 1, which implies a 100% probability, and that's clearly not correct for this event.
Alternatively, you could recognize that the only outcome that isn’t favorable is 5, which has a probability of 1/6. Therefore, the probability of the favorable outcomes is 1 - 1/6 = 5/6.
Or, you could list the favorable outcomes: 1, 2, 3 (numbers less than 4), and 4, 6 (even numbers). This gives a total probability of 5/6.