Calculating Probability
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ISEE Lower Level: Quantitative Reasoning › Calculating Probability
A pet shelter has only cats and dogs. There are 8 more dogs than cats. If there are 30 animals in total, what is the probability that a randomly chosen animal is a cat?
\(\frac{11}{30}\)
\(\frac{19}{30}\)
\(\frac{4}{15}\)
\(\frac{11}{19}\)
Explanation
Let C be the number of cats and D be the number of dogs. We are given that \(D = C + 8\) and \(D + C = 30\). We can substitute the first equation into the second: \((C + 8) + C = 30\). This simplifies to \(2C + 8 = 30\). Subtract 8 from both sides: \(2C = 22\). Divide by 2: \(C = 11\). There are 11 cats. The total number of animals is 30. The probability of choosing a cat is the number of cats divided by the total number of animals: \(\frac{11}{30}\).
A standard six-sided die is rolled once. What is the probability that the number rolled is an even number that is also a factor of 12?
\(\frac{5}{6}\)
\(\frac{1}{3}\)
\(\frac{2}{3}\)
\(\frac{1}{2}\)
Explanation
The possible outcomes when rolling a six-sided die are {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}. We need to find the outcomes that satisfy two conditions: being an even number and being a factor of 12. The even numbers are {2, 4, 6}. Now we check which of these are also factors of 12. 12 is divisible by 2, 4, and 6. So, all three numbers {2, 4, 6} satisfy both conditions. There are 3 favorable outcomes. The total number of outcomes is 6. The probability is \(\frac{3}{6}\), which simplifies to \(\frac{1}{2}\).
A box contains 50 crayons. There are 15 red, 10 blue, 12 green, and the rest are yellow. What is the probability of randomly picking a crayon that is NOT blue?
\(\frac{1}{5}\)
\(\frac{13}{50}\)
\(\frac{4}{5}\)
\(\frac{1}{10}\)
Explanation
There are two ways to solve this. Method 1: Find the number of crayons that are not blue. The total is 50, and 10 are blue, so \(50 - 10 = 40\) crayons are not blue. The probability is \(\frac{40}{50}\), which simplifies to \(\frac{4}{5}\). Method 2: Find the probability of picking a blue crayon, which is \(\frac{10}{50} = \frac{1}{5}\). The probability of the event NOT happening is 1 minus the probability of the event happening. So, the probability of not picking a blue crayon is \(1 - \frac{1}{5} = \frac{4}{5}\).
A box contains 30 slips of paper, each with a day of the week written on it. There are 10 slips for Saturday and 6 for Sunday. The remaining slips are for weekdays. If a slip is chosen at random, what is the probability it shows a weekday?
\(\frac{1}{2}\)
\(\frac{7}{15}\)
\(\frac{8}{15}\)
\(\frac{7}{8}\)
Explanation
First, find the total number of slips for weekend days (Saturday and Sunday). This is \(10 + 6 = 16\). Next, find the number of slips for weekdays by subtracting the weekend slips from the total: \(30 - 16 = 14\). The probability of choosing a weekday is the number of weekday slips divided by the total number of slips, which is \(\frac{14}{30}\). This fraction can be simplified by dividing both the numerator and the denominator by 2: \(\frac{14 \div 2}{30 \div 2} = \frac{7}{15}\).
A cookie jar contains 36 cookies. One-third of the cookies are chocolate chip, one-fourth are oatmeal, and the rest are peanut butter. If a cookie is chosen at random, what is the probability it is a peanut butter cookie?
\(\frac{1}{3}\)
\(\frac{7}{12}\)
\(\frac{1}{4}\)
\(\frac{5}{12}\)
Explanation
First, calculate the number of chocolate chip cookies: \(\frac{1}{3} \times 36 = 12\). Next, calculate the number of oatmeal cookies: \(\frac{1}{4} \times 36 = 9\). The total number of chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies is \(12 + 9 = 21\). To find the number of peanut butter cookies, subtract this from the total: \(36 - 21 = 15\). The probability of choosing a peanut butter cookie is the number of peanut butter cookies divided by the total number of cookies: \(\frac{15}{36}\). To simplify, divide the numerator and denominator by their greatest common factor, which is 3: \(\frac{15 \div 3}{36 \div 3} = \frac{5}{12}\).
A bag contains 24 marbles in total. There are 8 red marbles and 6 blue marbles. The rest of the marbles are green. If a marble is chosen at random from the bag, what is the probability that it is green?
\(\frac{5}{12}\)
\(\frac{1}{3}\)
\(\frac{7}{12}\)
\(\frac{10}{24}\)
Explanation
First, find the number of green marbles. There are 24 marbles in total, with 8 red and 6 blue. The number of red and blue marbles together is \(8 + 6 = 14\). The number of green marbles is the total minus the red and blue marbles: \(24 - 14 = 10\) green marbles. The probability of choosing a green marble is the number of green marbles divided by the total number of marbles, which is \(\frac{10}{24}\). This fraction must be simplified. Both 10 and 24 are divisible by 2, so \(\frac{10}{24} = \frac{5}{12}\).
In a class of 25 students, 12 are boys and the rest are girls. Of the boys, 5 have brown hair. Of the girls, 8 have brown hair. If the teacher calls on one student at random, what is the probability that the student has brown hair?
\(\frac{13}{25}\)
\(\frac{12}{25}\)
\(\frac{8}{13}\)
\(\frac{5}{12}\)
Explanation
The question asks for the probability that a randomly selected student has brown hair. We need to find the total number of students with brown hair and divide it by the total number of students. There are 5 boys with brown hair and 8 girls with brown hair. So, the total number of students with brown hair is \(5 + 8 = 13\). The total number of students in the class is 25. The probability is the number of students with brown hair divided by the total number of students: \(\frac{13}{25}\). The information that there are 12 boys is extra information not needed to find the total number of students with brown hair.
A gumball machine contains only red and yellow gumballs. There are twice as many red gumballs as yellow gumballs. If the machine has 36 gumballs in total, what is the probability of getting a yellow gumball?
\(\frac{12}{24}\)
\(\frac{1}{2}\)
\(\frac{1}{3}\)
\(\frac{2}{3}\)
Explanation
Let Y be the number of yellow gumballs and R be the number of red gumballs. We know that \(R = 2Y\) and \(R + Y = 36\). Substitute the first equation into the second: \(2Y + Y = 36\), which simplifies to \(3Y = 36\). Dividing by 3, we find \(Y = 12\). So there are 12 yellow gumballs. The probability of getting a yellow gumball is the number of yellow gumballs divided by the total number of gumballs: \(\frac{12}{36}\). This fraction simplifies to \(\frac{1}{3}\).
A set of cards is numbered from 1 to 20, with one number per card. If you draw one card at random, what is the probability that the number on the card is a multiple of 4 or a multiple of 7?
\(\frac{7}{20}\)
\(\frac{1}{20}\)
\(\frac{1}{10}\)
\(\frac{1}{4}\)
Explanation
First, identify the total number of possible outcomes, which is 20 since there are 20 cards. Next, find the number of favorable outcomes. The multiples of 4 between 1 and 20 are 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20. There are 5 such multiples. The multiples of 7 between 1 and 20 are 7 and 14. There are 2 such multiples. Since there are no numbers that are multiples of both 4 and 7 in this range, we can add the number of favorable outcomes together: \(5 + 2 = 7\). The probability is the number of favorable outcomes divided by the total number of outcomes, which is \(\frac{7}{20}\).
A spinner is divided into equal sections of red, blue, and green. The probability of the spinner landing on red is \(\frac{1}{4}\). There are 5 red sections. If there are 2 more blue sections than red sections, what is the probability of landing on blue?
\(\frac{1}{4}\)
\(\frac{7}{20}\)
\(\frac{7}{5}\)
\(\frac{2}{20}\)
Explanation
First, find the total number of sections on the spinner. We are told the probability of landing on red is \(\frac{1}{4}\) and that there are 5 red sections. This means that 5 is \(\frac{1}{4}\) of the total number of sections. So, the total number of sections is \(5 \times 4 = 20\). Next, find the number of blue sections. There are 2 more blue sections than red sections, so the number of blue sections is \(5 + 2 = 7\). The probability of landing on blue is the number of blue sections divided by the total number of sections, which is \(\frac{7}{20}\).