Statistics And Probability Question 586

Question: Let A and B be two events such that $ P\overline{(A\cup B)}=\frac{1}{6},P(A\cap B)=\frac{1}{4} $ and $ P(\bar{A})=\frac{1}{4}, $ where $ \bar{A} $ stands for complement of event A. Then events A and B are

[AIEEE 2005]

Options:

A) Independent but not equally likely

B) Mutually exclusive and independent

C) Equally likely and mutually exclusive

D) Equally likely but not independent

Show Answer

Answer:

Correct Answer: A

Solution:

  •                  $ P( \overline{A\cup B} )=\frac{1}{6};P( A\cap B )=\frac{1}{4} $ ,                     $ P( {\bar{A}} )=\frac{1}{4}\Rightarrow P( A )=\frac{3}{4} $ ,                     $ P( \overline{A\cup B} )=1-P( A\cup B )=1-P( A )-P( B )+P( A\cap B ) $                                  
    

Þ $ \frac{1}{6}=\frac{1}{4}-P( B )+\frac{1}{4} $ Þ $ P( B )=\frac{1}{3} $ . Since $ P( A\cap B )=P( A )P( B ) $ and $ P( A )\ne P( B ) $ \ A and B are independent but not equally likely.