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phosgene
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Homework Statement
If A and B are events, use the axioms of probability to show:
a) If [itex]A \subset B[/itex], then [itex]P(B \cap A^{C}) = P(B) - P(A)[/itex]
b) [itex]P(A \cup B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A \cap B)[/itex]
Homework Equations
Axiom 1: [itex]P(x)\geq 0[/itex]
Axiom 2: [itex]P(S) = 1[/itex], where S is the state space.
Axiom 3: If [itex]A_{1},A_{2},...,A_{n},...[/itex] is any set of disjoint events, then:
[itex]P(\bigcup_{i} A_{i})=\sum_{i} P(A_{i}) [/itex]
The Attempt at a Solution
It's easy to see why they are true using venn diagrams. In the first case, since A is a subset of B, the probability of the intersection of B and A complement is just the probability of B minus the probability of A. With the second one, you just want to add the P(A) and P(B) and then subtract the probability of the intersection so that you're not adding the probability of those events twice.
I just have no idea how to do this symbolically. This is the first time I've ever had to try and prove something in probability..
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