ISEE Lower Level Math : How to find the probability of an outcome

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ISEE Lower Level Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Data Analysis And Probability

Every 1 in 5 car accidents is caused by cell phone use on the road. There were 2 accidents on the road. What are the chances that both accidents were caused by cell phone use?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the odds of two events happening, you multiply the odds of each event happening by the other. 

Here, the odds of one event happening is , and the odds of the other event happening are also .

We can solve by multiplying:

The chance of both accidents being caused by cell phone use is .

Example Question #32 : Data Analysis And Probability

Lisa flipped a quarter three times. What is the probability that the quarter was heads all three times?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If Lisa flipped a quarter three times, the possibility of it being heads all three times is calculated by multiplying the chance of the quarter being heads on each occasion.

Each try has the same chance: .

Given that each time a quarter is flipped, there is a  chance of it being heads, the probability of it being heads all three times would be 

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

Edward flipped a penny twice. What is the probability that the penny revealed the same side on both flips (either both heads or both tails)?

Possible Answers:

Cannot be determined

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When Edward flips the penny the first time, there is a 100% chance that the penny will be either heads or tails.

When Edward flips the penny the second time, there is a 50% chance that the second flip will be the same as the first: 50% chance that the second flip will be heads if the first flip was heads, and 50% chance the second flip will be tails if the first flip was tails.

The correct answer is , which is equal to 50%.

Example Question #34 : Data Analysis And Probability

Evan has 10 marbles together in a bag. 4 of them are yellow and 6 of them are blue. He picks one marble out of the bag and puts it on the table. If the marble is yellow, what is the chance that the next marble he picks will be blue?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Let's start with the initial conditions: 4 yellow marbles and 6 blue marbles.

Yellow: X X X X

Blue X X X X X X

Total: 10 marbles

One yellow marble is picked out.

Yellow: X X X

Blue X X X X X X

Total: 9 marbles

The probability that the next marble will be blue is equal to:

The fraction can be reduced.

The chance that the next marble will be blue is .

Example Question #35 : Data Analysis And Probability

Jessica has three tokens, labeled A, B, and C. Blindfolded, she mixes them up and then arranges them in a straight line. What is the chance that she will arrange them in the order of A, B, C?

Possible Answers:

None of these

Correct answer:

Explanation:

There are two ways to solve this problem.

The first is to look at the probability of each coin. There is a one-in-three chance that the first coin will be A. If this happens, then there will be two coins left. This means that the chance that the second coin is B will be one-in two. If this happens, then there will be a 100% chance that the last coin will be C. Multiply each term together to find the total probability of the event.

The second way to solve is to look at the possible combinations of coins.

ABC

ACB

BAC

BCA

CAB

CBA

There are six possible orders, one of which is our target; therefore, there is a one-in-six chance that the predicted outcome will happen.

Example Question #32 : Data Analysis And Probability

Emily baked a cake and put a cherry on one piece. The cake has 9 slices. Rebecca ate one slice that did not contain the ring. Julie has two pieces. What are the odds that Julie has a piece of cake with the cherry?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Since Emily baked a cake of 9 pieces and Rebecca ate 1 slice, 8 slices remain. The total odds for the piece with the cherry are:

If Julie takes 2, the odds that she has the cherry are doubled.

This reduces to .

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

If Rebecca has coins that are labeled 3 through 10, what is the probability that she will pick a prime number?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Between the numbers 3 and 10, there are 8 numbers (3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10) and 3 prime numbers (3,5,7). 

Thus, the probability of selecting a prime number from the set is .

Example Question #38 : Probability

Jacqueline cannot decide between which two dresses to wear (black or red) and which shoes to wear (heels or flats). She flips a coin to help her decide. What are the chances that she will wear a red dress with flats?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Given that Jacqueline is flipping a coin to help her make her decision as to what to wear, there is a  that she will decide to wear a red dress and a  chance that she will decide to wear flats. In order to find the chance of her wearing both of these items, we multiply the fractions together. This results in:

Example Question #33 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

Jenny has 6 friends who each gave her a birthday present. She now wants to write thank you notes to her friends, but can only remember which gifts were given to her by 2 of her friends. What is the chance that she knows what Julie (one of her friends) gave her as a gift?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Given that Jenny can only remember where 2 of her gifts came from, and that she had 6 friends give her gifts, the chance that she will remember what Julie gave her is , which is equal to .

Example Question #34 : How To Find The Probability Of An Outcome

A bag contains 12 black marbles, 4 blue marbles, and 8 red marbles. What is the probability of choosing a black marble?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Probability is defined as the number of opportunities for a specific outcome (in this instance the number of black marbles) divided by the total number of outcomes (total number of marbles).

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