AAPL wrote:Magoosh
In a certain corporation, there are 300 male employees and 100 female employees. It is known that 20% of the male employees have advanced degrees and 40% of the females have advanced degrees. If one of the 400 employees is chosen at random, what is the probability this employee has an advanced degree or is female?
A. 1/20
B. 1/10
C. 1/5
D. 2/5
E. 3/4
OA D
Since 20% of the male employees have advanced degrees, 0.2 x 300 = 60 male employees have advanced degrees, and 300 - 60 = 240 male employees do not have advanced degrees.
Since 40% of the female employees have advanced degrees, 0.4 x 100 = 40 female employees have advanced degrees and 100 - 40 = 60 female employees do not have advanced degrees.
So, 60 + 40 = 100 employees have an advanced degree.
Thus, the probability of selecting an employee who is female or has an advanced degree is:
P(woman) + P(advanced) - P(both)
100/400 + 100/400 - 40/400
160/400 = 16/40 = ⅖
Alternate Solution:
The only way an employee is not a female or does not have an advanced degree is if the employee is a male without an advanced degree. Since 20% of the males have advanced degrees, 80% have no advanced degrees, and thus, there are 300 x 0.8 = 240 males without advanced degrees. Therefore, 400 - 240 = 160 remaining employees meet the criteria, and thus, the probability of choosing an employee who is either female or has an advanced degree is 160/400 = 2/5.
Answer: D
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]
See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

