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Probability of drawing exactly 1 red ball

Expert replies
by gmattesttaker2 » Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:31 pm
Hello,

Can you please tell me if my solution is correct here?

Three balls are picked at random, without replacement, from a bag that contains 4 red and 5 blue balls, what is the probability of picking exactly one red ball?

(This is from GMAT Word Problems book. The answer given there seems to be wrong.)


P(RBB) = (4/9)(5/8)(4/7) = 10/63

Total number of ways to draw one red and two blue balls = (3 x 2 x 1)/( 2! ) = 3

Hence, total number of ways to pick exactly one red ball = (10/63)(3) = 10/21

Is this correct?


Thanks a lot,
Sri
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by [email protected] » Sat Apr 19, 2014 10:41 pm
Hi Sri,

There are actually a couple of different ways to "do the math." Your logic IS one of those ways to get to the correct answer.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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