Probability calculator (events & Bayes' theorem)

Calculate P(A or B), P(A and B) and P(A | B) for two events, or apply Bayes' theorem to a test result, with a probability tree and Venn diagram.

Aggiornato Esempi verificati: 6

How likely A is before seeing the evidence, e.g. how common a condition is.
Chance of seeing the evidence when A is true, e.g. a test's sensitivity.
Chance of seeing the evidence when A is false, e.g. the false-positive rate (1 − specificity).
Prova
P(A | B)
P(A | B): 0.091743
Massimo di cifre decimali: 6; Al più vicino; a parità lontano da zero
P(A and B)
0.009
P(A or B)
0.0991
P(B)
0.0981
P(A | not B)
0.001109
P(not A)
0.99
P(not B)
0.9019
P(neither A nor B)
0.9009
P(exactly one of A, B)
0.0901
Independent?
No

After seeing B, the probability of A moves from 1% to 9.17%. In natural frequencies: of 10,000 cases, about 90 have A and show B, while 891 show B without A — so only 90 of the 981 who show B actually have A.

Probability tree

0.010.99Anot A0.90.10.090.91A and B: 0.009A and not B: 0.001not A and B: 0.0891not A, not B: 0.9009
Come si calcola S
  1. Total probability of the evidence

    P(B)=P(B∣A)P(A)+P(B∣Aˉ)P(Aˉ)=0.9×0.01+0.09×0.99=0.0981P(B) = P(B \mid A)P(A) + P(B \mid \bar A)P(\bar A) = 0.9 \times 0.01 + 0.09 \times 0.99 = 0.0981
  2. Bayes' theorem

    P(A∣B)=P(B∣A)P(A)P(B)=0.0090.0981=0.091743P(A \mid B) = \frac{P(B \mid A)P(A)}{P(B)} = \frac{0.009}{0.0981} = 0.091743
  3. Addition rule

    P(A∪B)=P(A)+P(B)−P(A∩B)=0.01+0.0981−0.009=0.0991P(A \cup B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A \cap B) = 0.01 + 0.0981 - 0.009 = 0.0991
  4. Complements

    P(Aˉ)=0.99,P(Bˉ)=0.9019,P(A∪B‾)=0.9009P(\bar A) = 0.99,\quad P(\bar B) = 0.9019,\quad P(\overline{A \cup B}) = 0.9009
  5. Independence check

    P(A)P(B)=0.000981≠P(A∩B)=0.009P(A)P(B) = 0.000981 \ne P(A \cap B) = 0.009

Informazioni su Probability calculator (events & Bayes' theorem)

For two events A and B, the addition rule gives P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B), the multiplication rule gives P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B | A), and conditional probability is P(A | B) = P(A and B) / P(B). Bayes' theorem mode runs the conditional the other way: from a prior P(A) and the two evidence rates P(B | A) and P(B | not A), it returns the updated probability P(A | B).

The Bayes default is a screening test for a condition with 1% prevalence, 90% sensitivity and a 9% false-positive rate. A positive result raises the probability from 1% to 9.17%, because in 10,000 people the 90 true positives are outnumbered by 891 false positives.

Enter probabilities from 0 to 1; fractions such as 1/6 are accepted. Two-events mode rejects combinations that cannot exist, such as a P(A and B) larger than P(A) or P(B).

Esempi svolti

Screening test: 1% prevalence, 90% sensitivity, 9% false positives

Calculate
Bayes' theorem
Prior probability P(A)
0.01
P(B | A)
0.9
P(B | not A)
0.09
P(A | B)
0.091743
P(B)
0.0981

Fonte di verifica: Gigerenzer et al. (2007) mammography example (about 1 in 10 positives has the disease); exact 0.009/0.0981 = 10/109 with Python fractions

Independent events 0.5 and 0.4

Calculate
Two events
P(A)
0.5
P(B)
0.4
How A and B relate
Independent
P(A and B)
0.2
P(A or B)
0.7
P(A | B)
0.5
P(neither A nor B)
0.3
Independent?
Yes

Fonte di verifica: P(A)P(B) = 0.2; addition rule 0.5 + 0.4 − 0.2

Mutually exclusive 0.3 and 0.45

Calculate
Two events
P(A)
0.3
P(B)
0.45
How A and B relate
Mutually exclusive
P(A and B)
0
P(A or B)
0.75
P(A | B)
0
P(exactly one of A, B)
0.75
Independent?
No

Fonte di verifica: Definition: P(A ∩ B) = 0; union is the plain sum

Known joint probability

Calculate
Two events
P(A)
0.6
P(B)
0.5
How A and B relate
I know P(A and B)
P(A and B)
0.4
P(A or B)
0.7
P(A | B)
0.8
P(B | A)
0.666667
P(neither A nor B)
0.3
P(exactly one of A, B)
0.3
Independent?
No

Fonte di verifica: Hand calculation with Python fractions: 0.4/0.5, 0.4/0.6 = 2/3, 1 − 0.7

Domande

How do you calculate the probability of A or B?

Add the two probabilities and subtract the overlap: P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A and B). For independent events with P(A) = 0.5 and P(B) = 0.4, the overlap is 0.5 × 0.4 = 0.2, so P(A or B) = 0.7. For mutually exclusive events the overlap is 0, so the probabilities simply add: 0.3 + 0.45 = 0.75.

What is the difference between independent and mutually exclusive events?

Independent events don't affect each other's chances, so P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B). Mutually exclusive events can't happen together, so P(A and B) = 0. Two events with non-zero probabilities can't be both: if A rules out B, knowing A happened changes the chance of B to 0. Two coin flips are independent; heads and tails on one flip are mutually exclusive.

Why does a positive result on an accurate test often mean you probably don't have the condition?

Because false positives from the large healthy group can outnumber true positives from the small affected group. With 1% prevalence, 90% sensitivity and 9% false positives, only 9.17% of positives are true. At 10% prevalence the same test gives 0.09 / (0.09 + 0.081) = 52.6%. This probability is the test's positive predictive value, and it depends on prevalence as much as on accuracy.

How do you calculate the probability of at least one event happening?

Subtract the chance that it never happens from 1: P(at least one) = 1 − (1 − p)ⁿ for n independent tries with probability p each. The chance of at least one six in 4 rolls of a die is 1 − (5/6)⁴ = 671/1296, about 0.5177, just above even odds. With p = 0.01 you need 69 tries before the chance passes 50%.

Quanto è preciso «Probability calculator (events & Bayes' theorem)»?

La precisione dipende dai dati inseriti e dalle ipotesi del metodo. Il calcolo decimale usa 50 cifre significative, ma stime, metodi numerici e dati di origine possono essere meno precisi; l’arrotondamento visualizzato non elimina questi limiti. Esempi svolti verificati con fonti indipendenti: 6. Per esempio, «Screening test: 1% prevalence, 90% sensitivity, 9% false positives» viene verificato con Gigerenzer et al. (2007) mammography example (about 1 in 10 positives has the disease); exact 0.009/0.0981 = 10/109 with Python fractions.

Da dove proviene il metodo?

Grinstead & Snell, Introduction to Probability (AMS), §4.1 Discrete conditional probability and Bayes' formula; Gigerenzer et al. (2007). Helping doctors and patients make sense of health statistics. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 8(2), 53–96.

Informazioni su questa calcolatrice

P(A∣B)=P(B∣A) P(A)P(B∣A)P(A)+P(B∣Aˉ)P(Aˉ),P(A∪B)=P(A)+P(B)−P(A∩B)P(A \mid B) = \frac{P(B \mid A)\,P(A)}{P(B \mid A)P(A) + P(B \mid \bar A)P(\bar A)},\qquad P(A \cup B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A \cap B)

Fonti

  1. Grinstead & Snell, Introduction to Probability (AMS), §4.1 Discrete conditional probability and Bayes' formula
  2. Gigerenzer et al. (2007). Helping doctors and patients make sense of health statistics. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 8(2), 53–96

Verificato con le fonti

Questa calcolatrice include 6 esempi svolti con risposte da fonti indipendenti. Fanno parte della suite di test e puoi eseguirli anche qui.

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