Exercise 1: Conditional Probability and an Independence Check — Possible Solution ==================================================================== GIVEN ------------------------------ S = {1,2,3,4,5,6} G = "rolling a number <= 3" = {1, 2, 3} H = "rolling an even number" = {2, 4, 6} STEP 1: THE OVERLAP ------------------------------ G ∩ H = {2} (the only outcome satisfying both conditions) P(G ∩ H) = 1/6 STEP 2: P(G) AND P(H) ------------------------------ P(G) = 3/6 = 0.5 P(H) = 3/6 = 0.5 STEP 3: P(G|H) ------------------------------ P(G|H) = P(G ∩ H) / P(H) = (1/6) / (1/2) = 1/3 Given the roll is even (2, 4, or 6), only 1 of those 3 outcomes (the 2) also satisfies "<= 3" - matching 1/3 directly. STEP 4: P(H|G) ------------------------------ P(H|G) = P(G ∩ H) / P(G) = (1/6) / (1/2) = 1/3 Given the roll is <= 3 (1, 2, or 3), only 1 of those 3 outcomes (the 2) is also even - also matching 1/3 directly. (These two conditional probabilities happen to be numerically equal here, but that's a coincidence of this specific example, not a general rule - per this chapter's own warning, P(A|B) and P(B|A) generally differ.) STEP 5: THE INDEPENDENCE TEST ------------------------------ P(G) x P(H) = 0.5 x 0.5 = 0.25 P(G ∩ H) = 1/6 ~= 0.1667 Since 0.25 does not equal 1/6, G and H are NOT independent - they are dependent events. Knowing the roll is even genuinely changes the probability it's also <= 3 (and vice versa). WHY THIS WORKS AS AN ANSWER ------------------------------ Both conditional probabilities are computed directly from this chapter's own formula using the correct overlap and denominator for each direction, and independence is determined by this chapter's own multiplication-rule test rather than assumed from the fact that P(G|H) happens to equal P(H|G) in this particular case.