a bag contains 7 red chips and 10 blue chips. Two chips are selected randomly without replacement from the bag. what is the probability that both chips are red??

Work similar to two black cards problem in previous post.

but how is the answer in decimals??

You can convert between fractions and decimals - the important part of this question is finding the probability.

Try finding the probability, in either format, and we will be happy to critique your work or help you convert answer formats.

I don't understand.

The total number of chips in the bag is 7+10 = 17.

The probability of drawing a red chip the first time is (# of red chips)/(total # chips) = _____________

The probability of drawing a red chip the second time, with no replacement, means that you should assume 1 red chip was removed the first time.

The probability of drawing a red chip the second time = (# of red chips -1)/(total # of chips) = ____________

Multiply the two probabilities together to get your final answer.

I still do not get it.

I took (7-1)/17= and I got 0.352
but the answers that I have to choose from are
a) 0.485
b) 0.154
C) 0.515
D) 0.548
I am lost!!!

You need to use the two probabilities, 7/17 and (since one red has been removed) 6/16. The probability of both occurring is found by multiplying the probabilities of the individual events. Try it, and one answer will pop out for you.