[Random Musings] Misconceptions in Probability
Hey y'all. For the last few days, I've seen some students struggling with conditional probability on the IB server. This isn't news or anything; conditional probabilities are usually poorly done overall, especially the SL folks. This post summarises what commonly show up on examiners' reports and how you can avoid it. The concept of probability in IB is ENORMOUS, so I'll just focus on basic probability and combined probability. A solid foundation in this would ensure a good shot at solving the more complex, massive-tree-diagram-wordy-thingy questions. Basics of probability (1) giving answers which were greater than 1 You've probably heard of this statement 283187 times, but it's surprising the number of students who "innocently" report a probability of 2.0 due to a calculation error when dealing with decimals. Honestly. If y'all ever report a probability greater than 1, I'd leave the room and SCREAM because you didn't pay attention to ...