Calculating probabilities is an important skill in genetics. It is used to determine an individual's chance of inheriting genetic diseases, to determine the chances of carrying a disease or genetic trait, as well as for a variety of other tasks, such as predicting the success of a cloning project. When you are trying to calculate the probability of two or more independent events occurring at the same time, use the product rule. An example of this would be the flipping of two coins simultaneously. If we want to calculate the probability of obtaining heads on both flipped coins, we simply take the probability of landing heads on the first coin (1/2) and multiply it by the probability of landing heads on the second coin (1/2). Thus, the probability of landing heads on both coins simultaneously is the product of the individual probabilities: (1/2) × (1/2) = 1/4.
Whenever we are calculating the combined probability resulting from more than one independent event, we use the product rule.
How many different DNA molecules 10 base pairs long are possible?
Unpack the Problem: Break this problem into several parts and arrive at a solution using this guided, step-by-step approach.
Calculating probabilities is an important skill in genetics. It is used to determine an individual's chance of inheriting genetic diseases, to determine the chances of carrying a disease or genetic trait, as well as for a variety of other tasks, such as predicting the success of a cloning project. When you are trying to calculate the probability of two or more independent events occurring at the same time, use the product rule. An example of this would be the flipping of two coins simultaneously. If we want to calculate the probability of obtaining heads on both flipped coins, we simply take the probability of landing heads on the first coin (1/2) and multiply it by the probability of landing heads on the second coin (1/2). Thus, the probability of landing heads on both coins simultaneously is the product of the individual probabilities: (1/2) × (1/2) = 1/4.
Whenever we are calculating the combined probability resulting from more than one independent event, we use the product rule.
How many different DNA molecules 10 base pairs long are possible?
Unpack the Problem: Break this problem into several parts and arrive at a solution using this guided, step-by-step approach.
Calculating probabilities is an important skill in genetics. It is used to determine an individual's chance of inheriting genetic diseases, to determine the chances of carrying a disease or genetic trait, as well as for a variety of other tasks, such as predicting the success of a cloning project. When you are trying to calculate the probability of two or more independent events occurring at the same time, use the product rule. An example of this would be the flipping of two coins simultaneously. If we want to calculate the probability of obtaining heads on both flipped coins, we simply take the probability of landing heads on the first coin (1/2) and multiply it by the probability of landing heads on the second coin (1/2). Thus, the probability of landing heads on both coins simultaneously is the product of the individual probabilities: (1/2) × (1/2) = 1/4.
Whenever we are calculating the combined probability resulting from more than one independent event, we use the product rule.
How many different DNA molecules 10 base pairs long are possible?
Unpack the Problem: Break this problem into several parts and arrive at a solution using this guided, step-by-step approach.
Calculating probabilities is an important skill in genetics. It is used to determine an individual's chance of inheriting genetic diseases, to determine the chances of carrying a disease or genetic trait, as well as for a variety of other tasks, such as predicting the success of a cloning project. When you are trying to calculate the probability of two or more independent events occurring at the same time, use the product rule. An example of this would be the flipping of two coins simultaneously. If we want to calculate the probability of obtaining heads on both flipped coins, we simply take the probability of landing heads on the first coin (1/2) and multiply it by the probability of landing heads on the second coin (1/2). Thus, the probability of landing heads on both coins simultaneously is the product of the individual probabilities: (1/2) × (1/2) = 1/4.
Whenever we are calculating the combined probability resulting from more than one independent event, we use the product rule.
How many different DNA molecules 10 base pairs long are possible?
Unpack the Problem: Break this problem into several parts and arrive at a solution using this guided, step-by-step approach.
Calculating probabilities is an important skill in genetics. It is used to determine an individual's chance of inheriting genetic diseases, to determine the chances of carrying a disease or genetic trait, as well as for a variety of other tasks, such as predicting the success of a cloning project. When you are trying to calculate the probability of two or more independent events occurring at the same time, use the product rule. An example of this would be the flipping of two coins simultaneously. If we want to calculate the probability of obtaining heads on both flipped coins, we simply take the probability of landing heads on the first coin (1/2) and multiply it by the probability of landing heads on the second coin (1/2). Thus, the probability of landing heads on both coins simultaneously is the product of the individual probabilities: (1/2) × (1/2) = 1/4.
Whenever we are calculating the combined probability resulting from more than one independent event, we use the product rule.
How many different DNA molecules 10 base pairs long are possible?
Unpack the Problem: Break this problem into several parts and arrive at a solution using this guided, step-by-step approach.
General Hints
To Summarize
Whenever you are calculating the combined probability resulting from more than one independent event, use the product rule. When the probability for each event is identical, then the product rule can be written in exponential form. The base is the number of possible outcomes for one event (in this case, the number of kinds of nucleotides that can occupy any one site). The exponent is the number of times the base is multiplied by itself (in this case, it is the number of sites under consideration).