Year 7

Probability deals with how likely it is that something will happen. It is an area of mathematics with many diverse applications.

The study of probability began in 17th-century France where two of the great French mathematicians Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) and Pierre de Fermat (1601–1665) corresponded about problems from games of chance. Problems such as these continued to influence the early development of the subject.

Nowadays, probability is used in areas ranging from weather forecasting and insurance where it is used to calculate risk factors and premiums, to predicting the risks and benefits of new medical treatments.

This publication is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

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