Probability

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Probability

by Sak32 » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:08 am
Each of the 25 balls in a certain box is either red, blue, or white and has a number from 1 to 10 painted on it. If one ball is to be selected at random from the box, what is the probablitiy that the ball selected will either be white or have an even number painted on it?

1) The probability that the ball will both be white and have an even number painted on it is 0.

2) The probability that the ball will be white minus the probability that the ball will have an even number painted on it is 0.2.

Source material: GMAT prep. I need explanations please. Thank you.

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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:15 am
Each of the 25 balls in a certain box is either red, blue, or white and has a number from 1 to 10 painted on it. If one ball is to be selected at random from the box, what is the probability that the ball selected will either be white or have an even number painted on it?

(1) The probability that the ball will both be white and have an even number painted on it is 0.
(2) The probability that the ball will be white minus the probability that the ball will have an even number painted on it is 0.2.
Target question: What is the value of P(white or even)?

To solve this, we'll use the fact that P(A or B) = P(A) + P(B) - P(A & B)
So, P(white or even) = P(white) + P(even) - P(white & even)

Statement 1: P(white & even) = 0
We can add this to our probability equation to get: P(white or even) = P(white) + P(even) - 0
Since we don't know the value of P(white) and P(even), we cannot determine the value of P(white or even)
NOT SUFFICIENT

Statement 2: P(white) - P(even)= 0.2
We have no idea about the sum of P(white) and P(even), and we don't know the value of P(white & even)
NOT SUFFICIENT

Statements 1 and 2 combined:
Given P(white) - P(even)= 0.2 does not tell us the individual values of P(white) and P(even), and it doesn't tell us the value of P(white) + P(even).

So, since we can't determine the value of P(white) + P(even) - P(white & even), the statements combined are NOT SUFFICIENT.

Answer: E

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Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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