A mathematically driven measure of the possibility of a specific outcome as a ratio of all possible outcomes.

• A. Risk
• B. Probability
• C. Policy
• D. Threat

Answer: (B)

Probability is the mathematical measure of how likely a specific outcome is, expressed as the ratio of favorable outcomes to all possible outcomes. When each outcome is equally likely, this ratio directly represents the chance of that outcome. For example, a fair six-sided die has six possible results, so the probability of rolling a 3 is 1 favorable outcome out of 6 total outcomes, or 1/6. In contrast, risk combines likelihood with the potential impact of an event, policy refers to a set of rules, and a threat is a potential danger; those concepts describe broader notions than the pure likelihood described by probability.