Probability Problems

1. Two dice are rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers obtained is 7?

Solution: There are a total of 36 possible outcomes when two dice are rolled. Out of these
outcomes, there are 6 outcomes where the sum of the numbers is 7 (1+6, 2+5, 3+4, 4+3, 5+2,
6+1). Therefore, the probability of getting a sum of 7 is .

% Problem 2
A bag contains 5 red balls and 3 green balls. If two balls are drawn at random without
replacement, what is the probability that both balls are red?

Solution: The total number of balls in the bag is 8. When the first ball is drawn, there are 5 red
balls out of 8. Therefore, the probability of drawing a red ball on the first draw is . After the first
ball is drawn, there are 4 red balls left out of 7. So, the probability of drawing a second red ball is
. To find the probability of both events happening, we multiply the probabilities: .

% Problem 3
A box contains 8 white balls and 6 black balls. If 4 balls are drawn at random with replacement,
what is the probability that all 4 balls are black?

Solution: The probability of drawing a black ball on any single draw is (since there are 6 black
balls out of 14 total balls). Since the draws are made with replacement, the probability of drawing a
black ball on each of the 4 draws is .

% Problem 1
In a deck of 52 playing cards, two cards are drawn at random. What is the probability that both
cards are Kings?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: There are 4 Kings in a deck of 52 cards. When the first card is drawn, the probability of
selecting a King is . After the first King is drawn, there are 3 Kings left out of 51 cards. So, the

probability of drawing a second King is . Therefore, the probability of drawing two Kings is

2. A box contains 8 red balls, 5 green balls, and 7 blue balls. If three balls are drawn at random
without replacement, what is the probability that all three balls are the same color?

[a)]

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 1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The total number of balls in the box is 20. The probability of drawing three red balls is
. Similarly, the probability of drawing three green balls is

. And the probability of drawing three blue balls is .

Therefore, the probability of drawing three balls of the same color is .

3. A jar contains 5 red marbles and 3 blue marbles. If two marbles are drawn at random
without replacement, what is the probability that one marble is red and one marble is blue?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The total number of marbles in the jar is 8. The probability of drawing one red marble
and one blue marble can be calculated as follows: .

4. A bag contains 6 red balls, 4 green balls, and 5 blue balls. If three balls are drawn at random
with replacement, what is the probability that all three balls are the same color?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The probability of drawing three red balls is . Similarly, the probability

of drawing three green balls is . And the probability of drawing three blue balls is

. Therefore, the probability of drawing three balls of the same color is

5. A fair coin is tossed 5 times. What is the probability of getting exactly 3 heads?

[a)]

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 1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The total number of possible outcomes when a fair coin is tossed 5 times is . The
number of favorable outcomes (getting exactly 3 heads) can be calculated using the binomial
coefficient as . Therefore, the probability of getting exactly 3 heads is .

6. In a box, there are 5 red balls, 3 blue balls, and 2 green balls. If 3 balls are drawn at random
without replacement, what is the probability that exactly 2 balls are of the same color?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: To calculate the probability, we need to consider three cases:

1. Selecting 2 red balls and 1 non-red ball,

2. Selecting 2 blue balls and 1 non-blue ball, and
3. Selecting 2 green balls and 1 non-green ball.

The probability of the first case is .

Similarly, the probability of the second case is .

The probability of the third case is .

Therefore, the total probability is .

7. A fair six-sided die is rolled twice. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers
obtained on both rolls is greater than 9?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: To find the favorable outcomes, we need to determine the pairs of numbers whose sum is
greater than 9. These pairs are (4,6), (5,5), and (6,4). So, there are 3 favorable outcomes out of a

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total of possible outcomes when two dice are rolled. Therefore, the probability is
.

8. In a class of 40 students, 18 students play basketball, 22 students play football, and 12

students play both basketball and football. If a student is selected at random from the class,
what is the probability that the student plays either basketball or football?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: To find the probability, we need to calculate the number of students who play either
basketball or football and divide it by the total number of students.

The number of students who play basketball or football is given by . Therefore,

the probability is .

9. A bag contains 5 red balls, 4 green balls, and 6 blue balls. If 3 balls are drawn at random
without replacement, what is the probability that none of the balls are red?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The total number of balls in the bag is 15. The probability of not drawing a red ball on
the first draw is . After the first draw, there are 9 balls left in the bag, out of which 4 are green

and 5 are blue. So, the probability of not drawing a red ball on the second draw is . Similarly,

the probability of not drawing a red ball on the third draw is . Therefore, the probability of not

drawing a red ball in any of the three draws is .

10. A box contains 6 red balls, 4 blue balls, and 5 green balls. If 2 balls are drawn at random
without replacement, what is the probability that both balls are blue?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

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Solution: The total number of balls in the box is 15. When the first ball is drawn, there are 4 blue
balls out of 15. Therefore, the probability of selecting a blue ball on the first draw is . After the
first ball is drawn, there are 3 blue balls left out of 14. So, the probability of drawing a second blue
ball is . Therefore, the probability of both events happening is .

11. A multiple-choice test has 10 questions, each with 4 options. What is the probability that a
student who guesses on all the questions gets exactly 6 questions correct?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The probability of guessing a question correctly is , and the probability of guessing a

question incorrectly is . To calculate the probability of getting exactly 6 questions correct, we use
the binomial probability formula:

Evaluating this expression, we get .

12. A class consists of 12 girls and 8 boys. If 3 students are selected at random, what is the
probability that at least 2 of them are girls?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The total number of students in the class is 20. To calculate the probability, we consider
two cases:

1. Selecting 2 girls and 1 boy,

2. Selecting all 3 girls.

The probability of the first case is .

The probability of the second case is .

Therefore, the total probability is .

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 13. A company has 5 printers, of which 2 are defective. If 3 printers are randomly selected and
tested, what is the probability that exactly one of them is defective?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The total number of printers is 5. To calculate the probability, we use the binomial
probability formula:

Evaluating this expression, we get .

14. In a deck of 52 playing cards, what is the probability of getting a hand with all four suits
(one card from each suit)?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: The probability of drawing a card from each suit can be calculated as:

Evaluating this expression, we get .

15. A bag contains 5 red balls, 4 green balls, and 3 blue balls. Three balls are drawn at random
without replacement. What is the probability that they are all the same color?

[a)]
1.

2.

3.

4.

Solution: To calculate the probability, we consider three cases:

1. Drawing all red balls,

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 2. Drawing all green balls,
3. Drawing all blue balls.

The probability of the first case is .

The probability of the second case is .

The probability of the third case is .

Therefore, the total probability is .

16. In a group of 50 students, 30 are enrolled in a physics course, 20 are enrolled in a chemistry
course, and 15 are enrolled in both courses. If a student is selected at random, what is the
probability that the student is enrolled in either physics or chemistry?
Options:
a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: Let P(Physics) denote the probability of selecting a physics student and P(Chemistry)
denote the probability of selecting a chemistry student. Then, the probability of selecting a student
enrolled in either physics or chemistry is given by P(Physics or Chemistry) = P(Physics) +
P(Chemistry) - P(Physics and Chemistry). Substituting the values, we get P(Physics or Chemistry)
= . Therefore, the answer is not listed in the options.

17. A bag contains 10 red balls and 8 blue balls. Three balls are drawn at random without
replacement. What is the probability that all three balls are red?
Options:
a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: The probability of drawing the first red ball is . After the first red ball is drawn, there

are 9 red balls and 17 total balls remaining. The probability of drawing the second red ball is .

Similarly, the probability of drawing the third red ball is . Therefore, the probability of drawing

all three red balls is .

18. A bag contains 5 red balls, 4 green balls, and 3 blue balls. If 2 balls are drawn at random
with replacement, what is the probability that both balls are red?
Options:

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 a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: Since the balls are drawn with replacement, the probability of drawing a red ball on each

draw is . Therefore, the probability of drawing both balls as red is . However,

none of the options match this result.

19. A standard deck of 52 playing cards is shuffled thoroughly. Two cards are drawn at random
without replacement. What is the probability that both cards are aces?
Options:
a)

b)
c) $\dfrac{1}{559}
d)

Solution: The probability of drawing the first ace is . After the first ace is drawn, there are 3 aces

and 51 total cards remaining. Therefore, the probability of drawing the second ace is . Hence,

the probability of drawing both cards as aces is .

20. A jar contains 6 red balls, 5 green balls, and 4 blue balls. Three balls are drawn at random
without replacement. What is the probability that the three balls are of different colors?
Options:
a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: The probability of drawing a red ball on the first draw is . After the first ball is drawn,
there are 5 red balls and 14 total balls remaining. Therefore, the probability of drawing a green ball
on the second draw is . Finally, the probability of drawing a blue ball on the third draw is .

Thus, the probability of drawing three balls of different colors is .

21. Problem: A company has 10 employees, including 4 managers and 6 non-managers. Three
employees are selected at random to form a committee. What is the probability that the
committee consists of exactly 2 managers and 1 non-manager?
Options:
a)

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 b)

c)

d)

Solution: The number of ways to select 2 managers out of 4 is . The number of ways to select
1 non-manager out of 6 is . The total number of ways to select 3 employees out of 10 is
. Therefore, the probability is . Hence, the correct option is not
listed.

22. A class consists of 30 students, of which 15 are girls and 15 are boys. If a group of 6 students
is selected at random, what is the probability that the group contains an equal number of
boys and girls?
Options:
a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: The number of ways to select 3 boys out of 15 is . Similarly, the number of ways
to select 3 girls out of 15 is also . The total number of ways to select 6 students out of 30
is . Therefore, the probability is . Hence, the correct
option is not listed.

23. game is played with a fair six-sided die and a fair four-sided die. The six-sided die is rolled
first, and the number rolled determines how many times the four-sided die is rolled. What is
the probability of rolling a total of 10?
Options:
a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: Let's consider the possible combinations that result in a total of 10: (4, 4, 2), (3, 3, 4),
and (2, 2, 6). The probability of rolling a 4 on the six-sided die is . For each roll of the four-sided

die, the probability of rolling the desired number is . Therefore, the probability is

. Hence, the correct option is not listed.

24. In a city, 70% of the households own a car, 45% own a bicycle, and 30% own both a car and
a bicycle. What is the probability that a randomly selected household owns neither a car nor
a bicycle?
Options:
a)

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 b)
c)
d)

Solution: Let's denote the probability of owning a car as and the probability of owning a
bicycle as . The probability of owning neither a car nor a bicycle is given by
. Substituting the values, we have
. Hence, the correct option is not listed.

25. A jar contains 8 red balls, 6 green balls, and 4 blue balls. Four balls are drawn at random
without replacement. What is the probability that exactly 2 balls are red and 2 balls are
green?
Options:
a)

b)

c)

d)

Solution: The total number of ways to choose 4 balls out of 18 is . The number of
favorable outcomes (selecting exactly 2 red and 2 green balls) is . Therefore, the probability

is . Hence, the correct option is not listed.

26. A company is conducting a job interview process with three rounds: written test, group
discussion, and personal interview. In each round, the probability of a candidate getting
selected is 0.6, 0.7, and 0.8, respectively. What is the probability that a candidate will be
selected for the job if they perform well in at least two of the three rounds?
Options:
a) 0.676
b) 0.664
c) 0.648
d) 0.632

Solution: To calculate the probability, we need to consider the cases where a candidate performs
well in at least two rounds: (1) performs well in the written test and group discussion, (2) performs
well in the group discussion and personal interview, and (3) performs well in the written test and
personal interview. The probability of each case is given by:

(1)
(2)
(3)

Adding these probabilities, we get . Therefore, the answer is not listed

in the options.

27. A number is randomly chosen from the set of five-digit natural numbers. What is the
probability that at least one of the digits of the chosen number is 0?
Options:
A)
B)

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 C)
D)

Solution: The total number of five-digit natural numbers is . The number of five-
digit natural numbers without any zeros is . Therefore, the number of five-
digit natural numbers with at least one zero is . The probability is .
Among the given options, option D) matches this result.

28. A bag contains 8 balls, of which 5 are green and 3 are red. What is the probability that two
balls chosen at random are of the same color?
Options:
A)
B)
C)
D)

Solution: The total number of ways to choose two balls out of 8 is . The number of ways to
choose two green balls is . Similarly, the number of ways to choose two red balls is .
Therefore, the number of ways to choose two balls of the same color is . The probability
is . Among the given options, option D) matches this result.

29. Out of a pack of ten cards numbered 1 to 10, a boy draws a card at random and keeps it
back. Then a girl draws a card at random from the same pack. If the boy's card reads , and
the girl's card reads , then what is the probability that , given that is even?
Options:
A)
B)
C)
D)

Solution: Since the boy's card is drawn first and replaced, each card is equally likely to be drawn by
the girl. Therefore, the probability that is equal to the probability that is even, which is
. Among the given options, option A) matches this result.

0. A randomly chosen card from a deck of 52 cards is given to be a black card (i.e., Spade or
Club). What is the probability that it is either a face card (i.e., King, Queen, or Jack) or a
Spade?
Options:
A)
B)
C)
D) None of the above

Solution: There are a total of 26 black cards in a deck (13 Spades and 13 Clubs). Out of these, there
are 12 face cards (3 Kings, 3 Queens, and 3 Jacks) and 13 Spades. The probability is .
Option D is correct.

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