A box contains 4 red and 6 blue balls. two balls are picked at random without replacement. What's the probability of drawing balls not of the same color?

Question

probability, statistics

Answer 1

There is a 4/10 probability of picking a red ball, after which there is a 6/9 probability of picking a blue ball. To get the probability of picking a red then blue, multiply these.

P1=24/90

 

Now we do the same calculation for drawing blue first, where the respective probabilities are 6/10 and 4/9. To get the probability of picking blue then red, we multiply again, and the answer is the same.

P2=24/90

 

To get the total probability, we add P1 and P2.

P=P1+P2=48/90

 

You can simplify or convert to a decimal as needed.

Answer 2

If the red ball is picked first, 6/9

If the blue ball is picked first, 4/9