ACT Math : Probability

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ACT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #81 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

A certain pet store has  What is the probability that a person chooses a cat from the pet store?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Probabilities can be found by the following equation:  , where the total outcomes is the sum of all of the different number of pets, and the numinator is the number of pets we want to pick (there are only  cats).  In our case, the probability is simply .

Example Question #82 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

 dogs are competing to become Best in Show.  How many possible outcomes are there for the dogs to win  prize if they cannot win more than one prize? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

This is a combination problem. The solution to the question can be found by considering how many dogs can win the first prize (all five of them)! Then, if one has already won a prize, how many can win the second prize (four). This is because one of the five dogs has already been awarded a prize. Then, how many options are left to win the third prize? The answer is three. In a combination problem, we always multiply all of the possible outcomes for the results to get a total possible outcome value:  

Example Question #81 : Probability

Aaron, Gary, Craig, and Boone are sitting down in a row of four chairs. What is the probability that Aaron and Gary will be seated beside each other?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Consider first all of the possible ways the men may be arranged, which is

Now, consider all of the ways that Aaron and Gary could be seated beside each other; it may be easier to visualize by drawing it out:

  1. A G _ _
  2. G A _ _
  3. _ A G _
  4. _ G A _
  5. _ _ A G
  6. _ _ G A

As seen, there are six possibilities.

Finally, for each of these cases, Craige and Boone could be seated in one of two ways.

So the probability that Aaron and Gary will be seated beside each other is:

Example Question #81 : Probability

Of 252 applicants, 9 received scholarships. What is the ratio of applicants that received a scholarship to those who did not?

Possible Answers:

1:28

1:27

1:9

1:25

Correct answer:

1:27

Explanation:

243 applicants did not get a scholarship. This ratio is 9:243, which reduces to 1:27.

Example Question #81 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

A bag contains 6 yellow marbles, 5 red marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 3 green marbles. If John randomly selects a marble from the bag, what is the probability that he selects a marble that is neither red nor blue?

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Probability is the likelihood that an outcome will occur, and it is calculated by dividing the number of favorable events by the total number of possible events that may occur. In order to answer the question, we need to divide the number of non-red and non-blue marbles (i.e. the number of favorable events) by the total number of marbles in the bag (i.e. the total number of possible events). The total number of non-red, non-blue marbles is the same as the number of yellow and green marbles

 

Example Question #82 : Probability

Caroline is given instructions to plant five different flowers in a specific order in a garden. When she goes to plant the flowers, Caroline can only remember which flowers are to be planted in the first two positions in the garden, and she cannot remember which flowers to plant in the last three positions in the garden. If Caroline plants the first two flowers correctly, and then randomly plants the last three flowers, what is the probability that Caroline has planted all of the flowers in the correct order?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If the flowers that go in the first two locations are already determined, there are only three positions that run any risk of having the wrong flower planted in them. First, determine the number of possible ways in which Caroline can finish planting the garden. There are 3 possible flowers that she could plant in the third position. After she plants a flower there, there will be 2 flowers she can plant in the fourth position. After planting a flower in the fourth position, there will be only one flower left to plant in the fifth position; therefore, the number of possible ways she could finish the garden is:

There are 6 possible outcomes. Only one of these outcomes will be successful; thus, the probability that Caroline finishes planting the garden in the correct order is one out of six:

Example Question #201 : Data Analysis

Kelly rolls 2 dice. What is the probability that the sum of the dice is equal to 9?

Possible Answers:

\frac{1}{4}

\frac{1}{12}

\frac{1}{36}

\frac{1}{9}

Correct answer:

\frac{1}{9}

Explanation:

From rolling 2 dice, there are 36 possible outcomes (6 sides per die for both dice: 6 * 6 = 36). There are 4 possible outcomes that will result in a sum of 9 (3 and 6, 4 and 5, 5 and 4, 6 and 3). The probabilty of rolling a sum of 9 is \frac{4}{36} or \frac{1}{9}

Example Question #83 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

Jane bought 30 pens, 9 of which had black ink, 10 blue ink and 11 red ink. On her way home from the store all the pens got mixed together and 2 blue pens were lost. When Jane arrives home she reaches into the bag and randomly picks a pen. What is the probability that she picks a blue pen?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When Jane starts she has a total of 30 pens, 9 black, 10 blue and 11 red. Two of the blue pens were lost. This dropped the number of blue pens to 8 and the total count of pens to 28.

To find the probability of something happening, take the total amount of things in question, the blue pens or 8, and compare them to total amount of pens which is now 28 pens.

 chance to draw a blue pen from the bag.

*The pitfall for these types of questions is to realize that not only does the count of blue pens decrease but also the total count of pens. Make sure to adjust both values. 

Example Question #202 : Data Analysis

A spinner has the numbers 1 through 10 placed on a circle. What is the probability that the spinner lands on a number divisible by 3 on one spin?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the probability of an event, find the number of ways that even could happen divided by the total number of outcomes of the event.

Number of ways we could spin a number divisible by 3: 
3,6,9 for 3 total
Number of different outcomes: 10.

Thus the probability is:

Example Question #203 : Data Analysis

A coin is tossed five times. What is the probability of tails occuring at least once?

Possible Answers:

0.833

0.729

3/4

0.969

1/2

Correct answer:

0.969

Explanation:

Probability of getting a head: 0.5
Probability of getting a tail: 0.5


The probability of not getting ANY tails = 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5 * 0.5= 0.03125

The probability of getting AT LEAST 1 tail = 1 - 0.03125 = 0.969

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