A drawer is filled with red and blue socks. If the
probability of selecting a red sock at random is 2/5
what is the probability that a blue sock will be
chosen at random?
a)3/5 b)2/5 c)2/3 d)3/2
(5/5) - (2/5) = ?
3/5
The probability of selecting a blue sock can be calculated by subtracting the probability of selecting a red sock from 1.
Since the probability of selecting a red sock is 2/5, the probability of selecting a blue sock is:
1 - 2/5 = 5/5 - 2/5 = 3/5
Therefore, the probability that a blue sock will be chosen at random is 3/5.
So, the correct answer is:
a) 3/5
To find the probability of choosing a blue sock at random, we first need to determine the proportion of blue socks in the drawer.
Let's assume the number of red socks is represented by 'R' and the number of blue socks is represented by 'B'.
Since the probability of selecting a red sock is given as 2/5, it means that out of every 5 socks in the drawer, 2 are red. So, the proportion of red socks can be represented as R/5.
Similarly, the proportion of blue socks can be represented as B/5.
We know that the total probability of selecting a sock at random must sum to 1. Therefore, the probability of selecting a blue sock can be calculated using the following equation:
Probability of selecting a red sock + Probability of selecting a blue sock = 1
From this equation, we can deduce that:
2/5 + Probability of selecting a blue sock = 1
Probability of selecting a blue sock = 1 - 2/5
Probability of selecting a blue sock = 3/5
Therefore, the probability of choosing a blue sock at random is 3/5.
The correct answer is (a) 3/5.