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Why This Matters for Nursing: Probability helps you understand risk factors, test accuracy, and treatment outcomes. "There's a 20% chance of side effects" or "The test has a 95% accuracy rate" — understanding probability helps you communicate with patients and make informed decisions.
Probability measures how likely an event is to occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1 (or 0% to 100%).
| Probability | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 (0%) | Impossible — will never happen |
| 0.5 (50%) | Even chance — equally likely to happen or not |
| 1 (100%) | Certain — will definitely happen |
Probability = Favorable ÷ Total
P(event) = (Number of ways it can happen) ÷ (Total number of possible outcomes)
"Part over Whole" — just like fractions and percents!
Example: Probability of rolling a 3 on a die = 1/6 (one 3 out of six sides)
What's the probability of drawing a heart from a standard deck? - Favorable: 13 hearts - Total: 52 cards - P(heart) = 13/52 = 1/4 = 0.25 = 25%
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