Math Question Probability

Question

A bag contains 8 red, 6 white, and 10 blue marbles. One of these marbles is to be selected at random from the bag. Complete the table below to show each theoretical probability of picking a certain color marble from the bag. Make sure you simplify your final fraction.

TABLE

Color • Probability

Red ________

White ________

Blue ________

Answer 1

To find the probability of picking a certain color, make a fraction where the numerator is the number of marbles of a certain color, and the denominator is the total number of marbles. Since there are 8 + 6 + 10 = 24 total, we have:

8/24 red

6/24 white

10/24 blue

Now we need to reduce the fractions by dividing top and bottom by their greatest common factor. 8 and 24 can both be divided by 8 to get 1/3. 6 and 24 can be divided by 6 to get 1/4. 10 and 24 can both be divided by 2 to get 5/12. So the answer is

Red: 1/3

White: 1/4

Blue: 5/12

Answer 2

(In referring to the response above mine) 8+6+10=24

8/24

6/24

10/24

Keep the denominator the same to make your table easier to understand. So yes, 8/24 can be simplified to 1/3. 6/24 can be simplified to 1/4 and 10/24 can be simplified to 5/12. Now, to get a common denominator, you need to determine the lowest common denominator, which in this case, would be 12. You can turn 1/3 into 4/12, 1/4 into 3/12, and 5/12 can stay the same. So, on your table, you can have 12 sections. 4 of the sections are red, 3 are white, and 5 are blue. It is much easier to see the probability this way. Which number is highest/which section is biggest, 3, 4, or 5? Hope this was helpful.