When Events Work Together
When Events Work Together
Sometimes we need to find the probability of multiple events happening together - like rolling two dice and getting a sum of 7, or drawing two cards and both being red. Understanding how to combine events is crucial for solving complex probability problems.
This topic brings together all your probability knowledge to solve real-world scenarios involving multiple conditions.
Mathematics glossary
- What are independent events?
- Events where one event doesn't affect the probability of the other
Earn the mark scheme marks
Exam Tips
- Identify event type - independent, dependent, or mutually exclusive
- "And" means multiply - P(A and B)
- "Or" usually means add - P(A or B)
- Watch for overlap - subtract P(A and B) if events can occur together
- Use tree diagrams for complex scenarios
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 11
A fair coin is flipped and a fair die is rolled. What rule is used to find P(heads AND rolling a 3)?
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This topic in real past papers
Every real exam question we've found on combined events, with a full worked answer.
AQA Paper 1
Two of the four sittings we have full papers for test a probability calculation beyond a single event, one using expected frequency and one using systematic counting.
AQA Paper 3
Two of the four sittings we have full papers for require the product rule for counting, multiplying together the number of options at each independent stage of a choice.
Edexcel Paper 1
Two of the three sittings we have full papers for test combined probability of independent events, once forwards using a tree diagram and once backwards from a stated combined probability.
Edexcel Paper 2
Two of the three sittings we have full papers for combine the probability of the same event happening twice, once using a given probability with a tree diagram, and once using an estimated probability from a frequency table.