ABSTRACT
Probability theory helps us to determine characteristics of a population from a random sample. A random sample is chosen so that every object, event, or individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected. The probability that the object, event, or individual will be selected is based upon the relative frequency of occurrence of the object, event, or individual in the population. For example, if a population consisted of 1,000 individuals with 700 men and 300 women, then the probability of selecting a male is 700/1,000 or .70. The probability of selecting a woman is 300/1,000 or .30. The important idea is that the selection of the individual is a chance event.
