Rashika is beginning a new job in human resources and expects to be assigned to several of the many human resources work groups. She has been told that there is a probability of
that she will be assigned to the Recruitment Work Group and that there is a probability of
that she will be assigned to the New Technology Work Group. She has no other information about the probabilities of the various possible assignments, or whether her assignment to one of these groups affects her chances of assignment to the other.
Select for Greatest probability for both assignments the greatest probability, compatible with the given probabilities, that Rashika will be assigned to both the Recruitment Work Group and the Technology Work Group. And select for Least probability for both assignments the least probability, compatible with the given probabilities, that Rashika will be assigned to both of these groups. Make only two selections, one in each column.Calculating the greatest probability that she will be assigned to both groups is fairly straightforward.
The probability that she will be assigned to both groups can't be greater than lowest probability that she will be assigned to one of the groups, which is the probability that she will be assigned to the Recruitment Work Group, 1/2.
So, to calculate the greatest probability that she will be assigned to both groups, we can assume that, if she is assigned to the Recruitment Work Group, she is always assigned to the New Technology Work Group.
In that case, the probabllity that she will be assigned to both groups is 1/2.
For
Greatest probability for both assignments, choose
1/2.An intuitive way to calculate the least probability that she will be assigned to both is the following.
The maximum probability of any event occurring is 1. So, the maximum probability that she will be assigned to either the Recruitment Work Group or the New Technology Work Group is 1.
Now, since 1/2 + 3/4 > 1, there must be some times when both occur. In other words, the occurrences of the two events must overlap some of the time. After all, if they didn't overlap, the probability that one or the other would occur would be greater than 1.
If you think about it, the minimum overlap must be 1/4.
After all, if we fill up 1/2 of the possible total probability of 1 with the probability that she will be assigned to the Recruitment Work Group, then we have only 1/2 of the possible total probability of 1 left for the probability that she will be assigned to the New Technology Work Group. However, the probability that she will be assigned to the New Technology Work Group is 3/4. So, that 3/4 - 1/2 = 1/4 extra must overlap with the occurrence of her being assigned to the Recruitment Work Group.
In mathematical terms, P(X or Y) = P(X) + P(Y) - P(X and Y), and it must be the case that P(X or Y) ≤ 1.
So, if P(X) + P(Y) = 1/2 + 3/4 = 1 1/4, then to reduce 1 1/4 to the maximum P(X or Y) of 1, we need to subtract at least 1/4.
Thus, P(X and Y) must be at least 1/4, meaning the correct answer for Least probability for both assignments is 1/4.
For
Least probability for both assignments, select
1/4.
Correct answer: 1/2, 1/4