SAMPLE PROBLEMS PROBABILITY (MONDAY DISCUSSION OCT.
16)
1. Find the probability of getting a red ace when a card is drawn at random from an ordinary deck
of cards
2. If a family has three children, find the probability that two of the three children are girls.
3. A card is drawn from an ordinary deck. Find these probabilities. a. Of getting a jack b. Of getting
the 6 of clubs (i.e., a 6 and a club) c. Of getting a 3 or a diamond d. Of getting a 3 or a 6
4. A box contains 3 glazed doughnuts, 4 jelly doughnuts, and 5 chocolate doughnuts. If a person
selects a doughnut at random, find the probability that it is either a glazed doughnut or a
chocolate doughnut.
5. At a political rally, there are 20 Republicans, 13 Democrats, and 6 Independents. If a person is
selected at random, find the probability that he or she is either a Democrat or an Independent.
6. A day of the week is selected at random. Find the probability that it is a weekend day.
7. A single card is drawn at random from an ordinary deck of cards. Find the probability that it is
either an ace or a black card
8. In a hospital unit there are 8 nurses and 5 physicians; 7 nurses and 3 physicians are females. If a
staff person is selected, find the probability that the subject is a nurse or a male.
9. On New Year’s Eve, the probability of a person driving while intoxicated is 0.32, the probability of
a person having a driving accident is 0.09, and the probability of a person having a driving
accident while intoxicated is 0.06. What is the probability of a person driving while intoxicated or
having a driving accident?
10. A coin is flipped and a die is rolled. Find the probability of getting a head on the coin and a 4 on
the die.
11. A card is drawn from a deck and replaced; then a second card is drawn. Find the probability of
getting a queen and then an ace.
12. An urn contains 3 red balls, 2 blue balls, and 5 white balls. A ball is selected and its color noted.
Then it is replaced. A second ball is selected and its color noted. Find the probability of each of
these. a. Selecting 2 blue balls b. Selecting 1 blue ball and then 1 white ball c. Selecting 1 red ball
and then 1 blue ball
13. A Harris poll found that 46% of Americans say they suffer great stress at least once a week. If
three people are selected at random, find the probability that all three will say that they suffer
great stress at least once a week.
14. Approximately 9% of men have a type of color blindness that prevents them from distinguishing
between red and green. If 3 men are selected at random, find the probability that all of them will
have this type of red-green color blindness.
15. At a university in western Pennsylvania, there were 5 burglaries reported in 2003, 16 in 2004,
and 32 in 2005. If a researcher wishes to select at random two burglaries to further investigate,
find the probability that both will have occurred in 2004.
16. World Wide Insurance Company found that 53% of the residents of a city had homeowner’s
insurance (H) with the company. Of these clients, 27% also had automobile insurance (A) with
the company. If a resident is selected at random, find the probability that the resident has both
homeowner’s and automobile insurance with World Wide Insurance CompanY
17. Three cards are drawn from an ordinary deck and not replaced. Find the probability of these
events. a. Getting 3 jacks b. Getting an ace, a king, and a queen in order c. Getting a club, a
spade, and a heart in order d. Getting 3 clubs
18. A box contains black chips and white chips. A person selects two chips without replacement. If
the probability of selecting a black chip and a white chip is , and the probability of selecting a
black chip on the first draw is , find the probability of selecting the white chip on the second
draw, given that the first chip selected was a black chip.
19. The probability that Sam parks in a no-parking zone and gets a parking ticket is 0.06, and the
probability that Sam cannot find a legal parking space and has to park in the noparking zone is
0.20. On Tuesday, Sam arrives at school and has to park in a no-parking zone. Find the
probability that he will get a parking ticket
20. A game is played by drawing 4 cards from an ordinary deck and replacing each card after it is
drawn. Find the probability that at least 1 ace is drawn
21. A coin is tossed 5 times. Find the probability of getting at least 1 tail
22. The Neckware Association of America reported that 3% of ties sold in the United States are bow
ties. If 4 customers who purchased a tie are randomly selected, find the probability that at least
1 purchased a bow tie