[Math] Can anyone explain how to find the probability using tree diagrams

probability

I'm having difficulty constructing the tree diagram.

Problem:

John is eating jellybeans. In his bag of jellybeans, he has 2 red, 2 green and one black jelly bean left.

Question:

Find the probability that the next 2 jelly beans he eats are:

  • (i) both red.
  • (ii) green and red in that order.
  • (iii) green and black in any order.
  • (iv) not red.
  • (v) both the same colour.
  • (vi) both black.

I would only like help with question 1 & 2. Please explain it step by step.

Best Answer

The following is the tree diagram of the exercise.

Tree diagaram

The first branching shows the probability of drawing each of the three colors from among the five jelly beans

On the second draw, there are only four beans remaining and one of the three colors will have been reduced in number by one. So whereas the probabilities of the first draw were fractions of $5$, the probabilities of the second draw will be fractions of $4$. The eight results are the probability space of the two draws showing the composition of each event in the space and how the probability of that event is determined. Notice that the sum of all eight probabilities sums to $1$.

You should be able to use this tree to find the answer to all the questions.