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Two events A and B satisfy P(A) = 0.6, P(B) = 0.35 and P(A given B) = 0.4. Find P(A or B).

Competition practiceData & Probability
  • A0.95
  • B0.14
  • C0.74
  • D0.81

Step-by-Step Solution

The conditional probability supplies the overlap: from (A given B) = (A and B) ÷ (B) we get (A and B) = . The addition rule then gives (A or B) = 0.6 + 0.35 − 0.14 = 0.81. The value 0.95 adds the two probabilities without subtracting the overlap, so it double-counts it — that would be the answer only for mutually exclusive events, and these are not, since their overlap is 0.14. The value 0.74 treats the events as independent and subtracts instead; they are not independent, because (A given B) = 0.4 differs from , so knowing happened makes A less likely. The value 0.14 is the overlap itself, a step in the working rather than the answer.
Answer: D) 0.81

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