On the first two days of Mark's vacation, the weather forecaster reports a 25% chance of rain. On the third day of his vacation, Mark is faced with a 50% chance of rain. What is the probability that Mark will have three straight days of rain?
If the events are independent, the probability of both/all events occurring is determined by multiplying the probabilities of the individual events.
.25 * .25 * .50 = ?
To find the probability that Mark will have three straight days of rain, we need to multiply the probabilities of each day of rain.
On the first two days, the probability of rain is 25%, which can be written as 0.25.
On the third day, the probability of rain is 50%, or 0.5.
To get the probability of three straight days of rain, we multiply these probabilities:
0.25 x 0.25 x 0.5 = 0.03125
Therefore, the probability that Mark will have three straight days of rain is 0.03125, or 3.125%.