Compound Probability

Categories: Metrics, Investing

A compound probability is the likelihood of two different events happening, either at the same time or one followed by the other.

In general, if we want to know the probability that events A and B both happen, we multiply the two probabilities together.

It’s thought that 51% of the population is born female, and about 11% of the population is born left-handed. The compound probability then that a child is born as a female southpaw would be 0.51 × 0.11 or 0.0561. Or about a 5.61% chance of getting that lefty ace for our Shmoop fast-pitch softball team.



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