Probability to extract balls problem

In summary, if you have 4 extractions and you replace the balls after each extraction, the probability of getting a ball is 1/4. If you do not replace the balls, the probability of getting a ball is the same as the first time you tried.
  • #1
Nick666
168
7
My knowledge about this kind of problems is almost zero, so I need some help.

I know that if we have 20 balls in a urn, 1 to 20, the probability to extract 1 to 5 in a extraction is 5/20=1/4

But what if we have 4 extractions with the balls extracted put back in the urn? How do I calculate that ?
 
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  • #2
The number of ways of choosing a ball is 20C1. Therefore, the probability of getting a ball (say ball 4) is 1/20

Now you put it back. Say you are trying to find the probability distribution of getting ball 2 from the urn. The probability of success is 1/20 and probability of failure is 19/20.
Since you put back the ball, in the next trial, the probability of success and failure is same.
We call such trials as Bernoulli trials.
So in 4 trials, the probability of getting ball 2 r times is $$P(X=r)=^4C_r(\frac{1}{20})^r(\frac{19}{20})^{(n-r)}$$
 
  • #3
If you did not understand the expression, then the topic you have to learn is "probability distribution" and "Bernoulli trials". Use a good mathematics book Or use Wikipedia.
 
  • #4
Nick666 said:
My knowledge about this kind of problems is almost zero, so I need some help.

I know that if we have 20 balls in a urn, 1 to 20, the probability to extract 1 to 5 in a extraction is 5/20=1/4

But what if we have 4 extractions with the balls extracted put back in the urn? How do I calculate that ?

No! If you are saying the probability of choosing the balls 1,2,3,4,5 without replacing the balls back in the urn it goes like this:
P(extracting ball 1) multiplied by P(extracting ball 2) multiplied by P(extracting ball 3).. Etc.
(1/20)x(1/19)x(1/18)x(1/17)x(1/16) because once you take ball one out there's only 19 balls left in the urn and so on..!

However if your talking about extracting ball 1 and replacing it and then choosing ball 2 (with ball one back in the urn) it's out of 20 again. And will go like this...
P(1) -(probability of choosing ball 1)- times P(2) times P(3).. Etc...
(1/20)x(1/20)x(1/20)x(1/20)x(1/20)

Now that is the the probablility of choosing the balls in a specific order like, ball 1, then ball 2, then ball 3... So to get the probability of choosing them five balls out of the urn in ANY ORDER (1 then 3 then 5 then 2 then 4 PLUS 1,2,3,4,5 PLUS 2,3,1,4,5 and so on..) then we have to multiply but the number of balls 'factorial' so 5! (! Is the factorial sign, it is the same as 5x4x3x2x1)
 
  • #5
But I wasnt talking about extracting one ball at a time, but 5 balls at one extraction. Let's consider it an electronic random extraction done by a computer that instantly eliminates 5 balls out of 20.
 
  • #6
20C5 gives you the number of ways of choosing 5 objects from 20 objects
 
  • #7
Nick666 said:
But I wasnt talking about extracting one ball at a time, but 5 balls at one extraction. Let's consider it an electronic random extraction done by a computer that instantly eliminates 5 balls out of 20.
In that case (like AdityaDev said) 20C5 (20 choose 5) is the number of ways you can choose 5 balls out of 20 without caring about the order you choose them in, so
AdityaDev said:
20C5 gives you the number of ways of choosing 5 objects from 20 objects
Ah i see so like AdityaDev said, it would be 1/(20C5)=0.0000645 (3sf)...?
 

What is the "probability to extract balls problem"?

The probability to extract balls problem is a common problem in probability theory where a certain number of balls are placed in a bag or urn, and the probability of extracting a specific color or type of ball is calculated based on the total number of balls and the number of balls of each color or type in the bag.

How is the probability of extracting a ball calculated?

The probability of extracting a ball is calculated by dividing the number of desired outcomes (extracting a specific color or type of ball) by the total number of possible outcomes (the total number of balls in the bag). This can be represented by the formula P(A) = n(A) / n(S), where P(A) is the probability of event A, n(A) is the number of desired outcomes, and n(S) is the total number of possible outcomes.

What is the difference between with replacement and without replacement in the probability to extract balls problem?

With replacement means that after each extraction, the ball is put back into the bag, so the total number of balls remains the same for each extraction. Without replacement means that after each extraction, the ball is not put back into the bag, so the total number of balls decreases for each extraction.

How does the number of balls in the bag affect the probability to extract a specific type of ball?

The more balls there are in the bag, the lower the probability of extracting a specific type of ball, as the total number of possible outcomes increases. Conversely, the fewer balls there are in the bag, the higher the probability of extracting a specific type of ball.

What is the significance of the probability to extract balls problem?

The probability to extract balls problem is important in various fields, including statistics, economics, and game theory. It allows us to make informed decisions based on the likelihood of certain events occurring, and can also help us understand and analyze real-world situations where probability is involved.

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