ACT Math : Data Analysis

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ACT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #32 : Probability

With a pair of standard six-sided dice, what is the probability of getting a sum of less than five OR at least ten?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Probability is a fraction between 0 and 1. The denominator is the total number of possible outcomes and the numerator is the total number of desired outcomes. For two dice, the total number of ways to roll the dice is 36 (6 on the first die can go with any of the 6 on the second die)

The following outcomes result in a sum of less than 5:  {1, 1}  {1, 2}  {1, 3}  {2, 1}  {2, 2}  {3, 1}, for 6 possible outcomes

The following outcomes result in a sum of at least 10:  {4, 6}  {5, 6}  {5, 5}  {6, 6}  {6, 5}  {6, 4} for 6 possible outcomes

Since we are looking for a sum of less than five OR a sum of at least ten, we sum up the total number of desired outcomes

So the probability of getting less than five or at least ten will be 12/36, or 1/3

Example Question #31 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

There are 6 pink marbles, 3 green marbles, and 5 white marbles in a bag; if one marble is taken out, what is the probability that the marble is pink?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

There are 6 pink marbles out of 14 total, which reduces to 3/7.

Example Question #32 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

A fair coin is flipped three times. What is the probability that the outcome is heads all three times?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

There are 8 possible sequences that can occur given this scenario, listed as {HHH, HHT, HTT, HTH, THT, THH, TTH, TTT} 

Only one element in this set is the desired outcome of 3 heads. So we get 1/8 is our probability.

Another way to look at this problem is to consider that the probability of flipping heads once is 1/2, so the probability of flipping heads 3 times consecutively is 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/8

Example Question #31 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

A single die is rolled and one coin is flipped. 

What is the probability of getting a number less than 4 on the die and a heads on the coin?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To get a number less than 4 on a die, 3/6 is the probability. To get a heads is a 1/2 chance.

So, since both events are independent, multiply the two probabilities together to get your answer.

Example Question #41 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

Jen's pencil case contains  pencils,  black pens,  blue pens, and  erasers. If Jen picks two items in a row (without replacing the first item she picks), what is the probability that she will pick a pen and then an eraser?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

There are a total of  items in the pencil case. On the first try, the probability of Jen's picking a pen is , because there are  pens in the case. On the second pick, there is now one less item in the case (because Jen does not replace what she picked the first time). So now, there are  items.  The probability of picking an eraser is .

To find the probability of Jen picking a pen and then an eraser:

Example Question #41 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

Karen has two decks of playing cards, each of which contains fifty-two cards. Karen combines the two decks. What is the probability of drawing a black ten or a black five from the combined deck?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Karen has two full decks of cards, this means there are cards total. In each deck there are two black ten cards and two black five cards. Since there are two decks, this means there are eight cards that are either a black ten or a black five. Therefore, the probability of choosing a black five or a black ten card is:

Example Question #92 : Probability

An auto insurer underwrites its 60 customers and classifies them in 3 mutually exclusive risk classes. 15 of the customers are in the high-risk class, 35 are in the moderate-risk class, and 10 are in the low-risk class. What is the probability that a randomly selected customer will be in the moderate- or high-risk class?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The probability that a randomly selected customer is in the moderate- or high-risk class is simply the sum of the number of clients in the moderate-risk class and the number of clients in the high-risk class divided by the  total number of clients:

This is also equivalent to just summing up the probability of being in the high-risk class and the probability of being in the moderate-risk class. Since the 3 classes are mutually exclusive, we do not have to worry about subtracting the probability of mutual elements.

Example Question #41 : Probability

Presented with a deck of fifty-two cards (no jokers), what is the probability of drawing either a face card or a spade?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

A face card constitutes a Jack, Queen, or King, and there are twelve in a deck, so the probability of drawing a face card is .

There are thirteen spades in the deck, so the probability of drawing a spade is .

Keep in mind that there are also three cards that fit into both categories: the Jack, Queen, and King of Spades; the probability of drawing one is 

Thus the probability of drawing a face card or a spade is:

 

Example Question #41 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

A coin is flipped four times. What is the probability of getting heads at least three times?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since this problem deals with a probability with two potential outcomes, it is a binomial distribution, and so the probability of an event is given as:

Where  is the number of events,  is the number of "successes" (in this case, a "heads" outcome), and  is the probability of success (in this case, fifty percent).

Per the question, we're looking for the probability of at least three heads; three head flips or four head flips would satisfy this:

Thus the probability of three or more flips is:

Example Question #51 : Calculating Discrete Probability

Rolling a four-sided dice, what is the probability of rolling a  three times out of four?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since this problem deals with a probability with two potential outcomes, it is a binomial distribution, and so the probability of an event is given as:

Where  is the number of events,  is the number of "successes" (in this case rolling a four), and  is the probability of success (one in four).

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