CBSE Notes Class 10 Maths Chapter 14 – Probability help you understand the basic concepts of chance and likelihood in a simple and clear way. In this chapter, you will learn about theoretical probability, outcomes, events, and how to calculate the probability of different situations. These CBSE Notes provide important formulas, step-by-step explanations, and solved examples to make revision easy and help you prepare confidently for your Class 10 board exams.
Download your CBSE Notes for Class 10 Maths Chapter 14: Probability in free PDF format for quick and effective revision. These notes include clear explanations, key formulas, and solved examples to help you prepare confidently for your Class 10 board exams.
Types of Events:
Probability of an event :
Probability of complementary events:
Probability in case of equally likely outcomes
Experiment : An action or operation which can produce some well-defined result is known as experiment.
Outcomes : The possible results of a random experiment are called outcomes.
Trial : When an experiment is repeated under similar conditions and it does not give the same result each time but may result in any one of the several possible outcomes is called a trial.
E.g., If a coin is tossed 100 times, then one toss of the coin is called a trial.
Event : The collection of all or some outcomes of a random experiment is called an event.
E.g., Suppose we toss a pair of coins simultaneously and let E be the event of getting exactly one head. Then, the event E contains HT and TH.
Elementary or Simple Event : An outcome of a trial is called an elementary event.
Note : An elementary event has only one element.
E.g., Let a pair of coins is tossed simultaneously. Then, possible outcomes of this experiment are–
The experimental or empirical probability P(E) of an event is defined as
I.e.,
Theoretical (or classical) probability
The theoretical or classical probability of an event E, written as P(E), is defined as
where the outcomes of the experiment are equally likely.
Impossible event (or null event)
An event is said to be an impossible event when none of the outcomes is favourable to the event. The probability of an impossible event = 0.
Important result
The probability of an event always lies between 0 and 1 i.e.,
Designation of playing cards
(i) A deck (pack) of cards contains 52 cards, out of which there are 26 red cards and 26 black cards.
(ii) There are four suits each containing 13 cards.
(iii) The cards in each suit are ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2.
(iv) Kings, queens and jacks are called face cards (4 + 4 + 4 = 12).
(v) Kings, queens, jacks and aces are called honour cards (4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 1
Example 1: A coin is tossed twice. Find the probability of getting at least one head.
Solution: Sample space: {HH, HT, TH, TT}
Favorable outcomes: {HH, HT, TH}
Probability = ¾
Example 2: A letter of the English alphabet is chosen at random. Determine the probability that the letter is a consonant.
Solution: Total letters in the English alphabet (Sample space) = 26
No. of Consonants (Favourable outcomes) = 21
Probability = 21/26
Example 3: Box A contains 25 slips, of which 19 are marked Re 1 and others are marked Rs 5 each. Box B contains 50 slips, of which 45 are marked Re 1 each, and others are marked Rs 13 each. Slips of both boxes are poured into a third box and reshuffled. A slip is drawn at random. What is the probability that it is marked other than Re 1?
Solution: Total no. of slips in the third box (sample Space) = 75
No. slips marked as 1 re in the third box = 64
No. of slips marked other than 1re in the third box = 75 - 64 = 11
Probability = 11/75
Example 4: A carton of 24 bulbs contains 6 defective bulbs. One bulb is drawn at random. What is the probability that the bulb is not defective? If the bulb selected is defective and it is not replaced, and a second bulb is selected at random from the rest, what is the probability that the second bulb is defective?
Solution: Total No. of Bulbs (sample space) = 24
No. of defective bulbs = 6
No. of bulbs that are not defective (Favourable outcome) = 18
Probability = 18/24 = 3/4
For second case:
Total no. of Bulbs remaining (Sample Space) = 25
No. of defective bulbs (Favourable outcome) = 5
Probability = 5/25 = 1/5
Students may get a strong grasp of probability and feel comfortable tackling problems pertaining to this topic with the help of these CBSE mathematics notes for class 10, Chapter 14. Learning is comprehensive and in line with the standards of the CBSE test, thanks to thorough explanations, practice problems, and real-world applications.
(Session 2026 - 27)