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How to Convert Relative Frequency to Probability

You flip a coin and it lands heads up. We say the probability of such an occurrence is 50 percent, but some may still wonder as to why this is the true probability of a flipped coin coming up heads. There are three main ways to define probability. One such way is through relative frequencies. We can learn about the probability of an event happening by observing the frequency of that event occurring with regard to the possibility of other events occurring. By observing a relative frequency over a series of trials or a long time, you can define the associated event's probability.

Statistical software or software to plot data

Instructions

- 1
  Create a set in the form of (number of trials, relative frequency) that can be easily plotted. When performing trials it may be convenient to record results in spreadsheet software for easy plotting.
- 2
  Run a large number of trials. The larger the number, the more accurate your result will be. If your data is of a limited number of trials or time period, cut it into as many sections as possible.
- 3
  Plot the relative frequency against the number of trails. This is best performed with statistical or mathematical software such as R, SPSS or SAS.
- 4
  Observe the convergence of the graph. The number the graph converges to as the number of trials increases is the probability of the event as defined by the long-term relative frequency.

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