What is the Probability of a Tetrahedron Landing on a Specific Colored Side?

  • Context: MHB 
  • Thread starter Thread starter mathmari
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Tetrahedron
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the probability of a tetrahedron landing on specific colored sides, with sides colored red, blue, green, and one side featuring all three colors. The probability space is defined as the set of outcomes, represented as Ω = {red, green, blue, all}. The probabilities for events A (red), B (blue), and C (green) are calculated to be P(A) = P(B) = P(C) = 1/2. While pairs of events A, B, and C are independent, the three events together are not independent, as demonstrated by the calculations of their intersections.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic probability theory
  • Familiarity with probability spaces and events
  • Knowledge of independent events in probability
  • Ability to calculate probabilities and intersections
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the concept of probability spaces in detail
  • Learn about independent and dependent events in probability
  • Explore the application of probability theory in real-world scenarios
  • Investigate the use of combinatorial methods in probability calculations
USEFUL FOR

Mathematicians, students studying probability theory, educators teaching statistics, and anyone interested in understanding the principles of probability in geometric contexts.

mathmari
Gold Member
MHB
Messages
4,984
Reaction score
7
Hey! 😊

Let one of the four sides of a tetrahedron be red, one blue, one green and the fourth side painted with all three colours. We consider the following events :
A: = The tetrahedron falls on a side with red colour.
B: = The tetrahedron falls on a side with a blue colour.
C: = The tetrahedron falls on a side with a green colour

Give a suitable probability space and give the events A, B and C as subsets of the result set.
(a) Show that two of the events A, B and C are independent.
(b) Are A, B, C independent? Explain. Does it hold that $P(A)=P(B)=P(C)=\frac{2}{4}$ because there is one side for each colour the the 4th side contains also each colour?
The probability space is the set of colours, or not?

:unsure:
 
Physics news on Phys.org
mathmari said:
Does it hold that $P(A)=P(B)=P(C)=\frac{2}{4}$ because there is one side for each colour the the 4th side contains also each colour?
The probability space is the set of colours, or not?
Hey mathmari!

I believe the probabilities are indeed $\frac 24$ each. (Nod)

A probability space is supposed to be a triplet of a sample space, an event space, and a probability function.
You only mentioned the sample space. (Worried)

Either way, I think that the outcome space must contain each of the sides. We only have 3 colors but 4 sides... (Worried)
We could pick for instance $\Omega=\{red,green,blue,all\}$. 🤔
 
Klaas van Aarsen said:
I believe the probabilities are indeed $\frac 24$ each. (Nod)

A probability space is supposed to be a triplet of a sample space, an event space, and a probability function.
You only mentioned the sample space. (Worried)

Either way, I think that the outcome space must contain each of the sides. We only have 3 colors but 4 sides... (Worried)
We could pick for instance $\Omega=\{red,green,blue,all\}$. 🤔

So the probability space consists of the outcome space $\Omega=\{red,green,blue,all\}$ and each outcome has the same probability $\frac{2}{4}=\frac{1}{2}$, right? :unsure:

We have that \begin{align*}&A = \{red, \ all\}\subseteq \Omega \\ &B = \{blue, \ all\}\subseteq \Omega\\ &C = \{green, \ all\}\subseteq \Omega\end{align*}

(a) We have that $A\cap B = A\cap C=B\cap C=\{all\}$ so we get that \begin{align*}&P(A)=\frac{1}{2} \\ &P(B)=\frac{1}{2} \\ &P(C)=\frac{1}{2} \\ &P(A\cap B) = \frac{1}{4} \\ &P(A\cap C)= \frac{1}{4} \\ &P(B\cap C)= \frac{1}{4} \\ & \Rightarrow P(A)\cdot P(B)=\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{4}=P(A\cap B) \\ & \Rightarrow P(A)\cdot P(C)=\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{4}=P(A\cap C) \\ & \Rightarrow P(B)\cdot P(C)=\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{4}=P(B\cap C)\end{align*} That means that each two of the events $A$, $B$ and $C$ are independent. (b) We have that $A\cap B \cap C=\{all\}$ so we get that \begin{align*}&P(A)=\frac{1}{2} \\ &P(B)=\frac{1}{2} \\ &P(C)=\frac{1}{2} \\ &P(A\cap B\cap C) = \frac{1}{4} \\ & \Rightarrow P(A)\cdot P(B)\cdot P(C)=\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{8}\neq \frac{1}{4}=P(A\cap B\cap C) \end{align*} That means that the events $A$, $B$ and $C$ are not independent. Is everything correct and complete? :unsure:
 
All correct and complete. (Sun)
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
1K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
2K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K