What is Probability? How Does It Shape Our Lives?

Have you ever heard your parents or other adults wishing that they could win millions of dollars in the state lottery? Experts say that a person has the same chance of winning the lottery as the chance of being struck by lightening! Only a few people are hit by lightening just as only a few people win the multi-million dollar prize in the lottery. These are two examples of probability and two examples of very unlikely events. An unlikely event is one that probably won't happen. See how close the word "probably" (which you already know) is to "probability"?
Let's pretend that you are taking a walk in the park along a paved trail and you reach a fork in the path. You can take the path on the left side or you can take the path on the right side. It's up to you to decide and you don't know what is ahead in either direction. You have no preference as to which way to turn. Then we could say that you have an equal chance of turning left or turning right. This means that the probability, or chance, of turning left or turning right are the same because there is nothing to influence the choice.
Let's skip ahead to your senior year in high school when you are ready to go to college. You like two schools with about the same costs to attend. You receive a scholarship for $10,000 to attend one of the schools and no scholarship from the other. What is the probability of attending each school? It is very likely that you will attend the school that offered you the scholarship. Then the probability of attending that school is higher than attending the school without the scholarship.
Probability is all around us and it does influence our lives every day. Before the measles vaccine was invented, most children became sick with measles when they were in elementary school. Back then the probability of getting measles was high. Since so many children would get sick, researchers decided to look for a vaccine. Now if children get vaccinated for measles, the probability of getting measles is very low. Working at preventing diseases that have a high probability of making people sick is one example of how probability influences lives.
Weather forecasts are another way we use probability every day. Do you ever see the forecast that says 80% chance of showers for tomorrow? That means that in the past, 8 days out of 10 that had weather like today were followed by showers. That's a high probability and you had better bring your
Why Is Calculating the Probability of Events Important in Life?
Probability is the chance that something might happen. When you calculate the probability of an event you look at chances of getting what you want versus all the possible things that can happen. The probability of an event that you know for sure will happen is 100% or 1 while the probability of an event that will never happen is 0% or just plain 0.
What about other events that you're not so sure about? The probability of these events can be given as a percent or as an odds ratio. Let's pick something a little silly but simple as an example. Let's pretend that you want to wear a sweater to school and you have a blue sweater and a yellow sweater. The probability of wearing the blue sweater is 50% or the odds are 1 out of 2. What is the probability of wearing the yellow sweater? It would be the same. The probability of all the events that are possible must add up to 100%.
There are lots of these simple examples that we could use to discuss more about probability. But this time we want to talk about Events Important in Life. As you grow up you need to think about your actions and what the consequences of these actions will be. It's important to know how to use probability when you make decisions about your future. Probability is a whole lot more than just selecting blue sweaters or blue socks from the drawer.
A lot of people just wish that they could win the lottery as a way to solve all their financial stresses. In fact about one-third of the adults in the United States think that winning the lottery is the best way to become financially secure. But you have a better chance of being struck by lightening or being in a plane crash (and there really aren't very many plane crashes) than you have of winning the lottery. The probability of winning the lottery is very close to 0. You need a better plan for your financial future than the lottery!
When you consider probability and your money, you decide how much risk you want to take. The government says that you will get back your money if the bank itself has financial trouble. If you put money in a bank that is insured by the federal government and you don't exceed the maximum insured amount, the probability of losing your money is 0. But banks usually do not pay very much interest back to you on your savings. You have low risk