Question: if a and b are independent events then p(a or b) = p(a) p(b)?
Answer: If A and B are independent events, then the events A and B' are also independent. Proof: The events A and B are independent, so, P(A ∩ B) = P(A) P(B). From the Venn diagram, we see that the events A ∩ B and A ∩ B' are mutually exclusive and together they form the event A.