Question

Check whether the following probabilities P(A) and P(B) are consistently defined

(i) P(A) = 0.5, P(B) = 0.7, P(A ∩ B) = 0.6

(ii) P(A) = 0.5, P(B) = 0.4, P(A ∪ B) = 0.8

Answer 1

(i) P(A) = 0.5, P(B) = 0.7, P(A ∩ B) = 0.6

It is known that if E and F are two events such that E ⊂ F, then P(E) ≤ P(F).

However, here, P(A ∩ B) > P(A).

Hence, P(A) and P(B) are not consistently defined.

(ii)P(A) = 0.5, P(B) = 0.4, P(A ∪ B) = 0.8

It is known that if E and F are two events such that E ⊂ F, then P(E) ≤ P(F).

Here, it is seen that P(A ∪ B) > P(A) and P(A ∪ B) > P(B).

Hence, P(A) and P(B) are consistently defined.