Two cards are drawn without replacement from an ordinary

deck of 52 playing cards. What is the probability that
both are spades if the first card drawn was a spade?

12 Spades left,

so prob = 12/51

Thanks

one is a spade and one is a heart

To calculate the probability that both cards drawn are spades given that the first card is a spade, we need to consider the remaining 51 cards in the deck after the first card is drawn.

The total number of spades in a deck is 13, since there are 13 spades in a standard deck. The probability of drawing a spade as the first card is 13/52, or 1/4.

After the first spade is drawn, there are 12 spades left in the deck, out of the remaining 51 cards. Therefore, the probability of drawing a second spade is 12/51.

To find the probability of both events happening, we multiply the probabilities together:

P(both spades) = P(first spade) * P(second spade | first spade)

P(both spades) = (1/4) * (12/51)

Simplifying this expression gives us:

P(both spades) = 3/52

So, the probability that both cards drawn are spades, given that the first card is a spade, is 3/52.