Why It Matters: Probability

Why learn how to compute probability?

According to the news, the lottery jackpot is climbing by the hour. Long lines of dreamers are forming wherever lottery tickets are sold. While you don’t usually buy lottery tickets, it is getting tempting. Just imagine what you could do with $100 million dollars. Perhaps you could retire early or never even go to work. Maybe buy a rare fancy car. All you need to do is pick the correct numbers, and the jackpot is all yours!

Image of a red Ferrari 250 GTO on a display platform.

It sounds easy enough; just six simple numbers. But how likely are you to win? And could you increase the likelihood of winning by purchasing more lottery tickets?

To answer these questions, you need to know about permutations, combinations, how to calculate the probability of winning, and the expected outcome. Learn about these topics as you complete this module, and we’ll return to the lottery at the end. Then you’ll be able to decide whether you want to stand in line to purchase a ticket.

Licenses & Attributions

CC licensed content, Original

Why It Matters: Probability. Authored by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution.

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Ferrari 250 GTO. Authored by: Aekkm. Located at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:01-bonhams-ferrari-monterey-2014-1.jpg. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike.
Lotto Balls. License: CC0: No Rights Reserved.

Study Guides > Mathematics for the Liberal Arts Corequisite

Why It Matters: Probability

Why learn how to compute probability?

Licenses & Attributions

CC licensed content, Original

CC licensed content, Shared previously