PROBABILITY

1. As the total number of pencils is 20 and the probability of choosing a yellow colored pencil is 0.8,
Number of yellow pencils
we get  0.8  Number of yellow pencils  0.8  20  16
20

 Favourable number of outcomes 

 Pr obability of an event  
 Total number of outcomes 

Also as the number of yellow colored pencils without an eraser is 6, the number of yellow colored
pencils having eraser = 16 – 6 = 10.

Finally the probability that a yellow colored pencil selected at random is the one that has an
Number of yellow pencils having eraser 10 5
eraser will be  
Total number of yellow pencils 16 8

Hence the answer is (D).

2. Set M  6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and set N  2, 1, 0,1, 2,3 . Two integers are selected at
random, one from set M & the other from set N, we need to find the probability that the product
of the two integers is negative.

Set M & set N has 5 and 6 elements respectively, if one integer selected from set M & the other
from set N, the total number of different combinations that can be formed will be 5  6  30 .

Now, if we want the product of the integers selected to be negative, we would have to take
exactly one of the two numbers negative.

As set M doesn’t have positive number, we can select only negative number from set M in 6 ways
and from set N only positive numbers need to selected and as there are only 3 positive numbers in
set N, the positive number selection can be done in 3 ways, so total number of selections of the
numbers from the two sets such that their product is negative is 5  3  15 .

Favourable number of outcomes 15 1

Hence the required probability    , so the answer is
Total number of outcomes 30 2
(D).
C
3.

A B
16
S is some point on the base AB of the triangle ABC, right angled at B; we need to compare
probability that the length of SC is less than 13 with 0.6.

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 From point B, point BS can take any length from 0 to 16 i.e. a total of 17 lengths (Length of BS
will be zero when B & S coincide & it will be 16 when A & S coincide).

As B is a right angle, CS will be the hypotenuse of triangle CBS, so the length of CS will be 13 if
SB = 12 (5, 12, 13 is a Pythagorean triplet). So, to have CS less than 13, we need the length of SB
< 12 i.e. SB can take any length from 0 to 11 i.e. 12 values.

Finally the point S has a total of 17 positions out of which 13 positions are favorable for which
13
the length of CS will be less than 13, so the Probability (SC being less than 13)   0.765 .
17

 Favourable number of outcomes 

 Pr obability of an event  
 Total number of outcomes 

Hence column A has higher quantity, so the answer is (A).

4. A bag contains balls numbered 1 to 10 out of which two balls are selected at random with
replacement; we need to find the probability that at least one of the two balls selected is an even
numbered ball.

Since the number of even numbered as well as the number of odd numbered balls in the bag is 5
each, the probability of selecting an even numbered ball = probability of selecting an odd
5 1  Favourable number of outcomes 
numbered ball    Pr obability of an event  
10 2  Total number of outcomes 

Now, Probability (Selecting two balls at random from the bag such that at least one them is an
1 1 1 3
even numbered ball) = 1  P  Selecting two odd numbered balls   1    1 
2 2 4 4

 P  At least one selected   P  None selected   1

Hence the answer is (C).

5.

We know that 8 people have to go to the hospital during a particular week; we need to find the
probability that on at least one of the days, at least two people will go to the hospital.
Since there are 8 people who need to go to the hospital and the number of days in a week is 7, it is not
possible that every person visits the hospital on a different day so there must be at least one of the days
when at least two people will go to the hospital.
Thus, the probability that on at least one of the days, at least two people will go to the hospital being a
sure event is 100% i.e. 1, so the answer is (E).

6. A total of 10 people will watch a movie on 7 days of the week; we need to find the probability that at
least two of them will watch the movie on the same day.
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 Since there are 10 people and only 7 days in a week it is not possible that each person watches movie on
a different day, so there must be at least two people watching movie on the same day. Hence the required
probability being a sure event is 100% = 1, so the answer is (D).

7.
Set A contains all the odd numbers from 1 to n, inclusive, where n is an odd number; we need to find the
probability that a number selected at random from the set A is an odd number.
Favourable number of outcomes
We know that probability of an event is  .
Total number of outcomes

Set A has all odd numbers in it and we want probability of a randomly selected number to be odd,
so we get favorable number of outcomes equal to the total number of outcomes equal to all n
numbers. (Possibility of selecting an odd number from the set of odd numbers only is a sure event
i.e. 100%)

Hence the required probability is 1, so the answer is (D).

8.

The number of defective (D) tools in a tool box having 10 different tools is 3, so the number of non –
defective (ND) tools in the tool box is (10 – 3) = 7
If out of three tools selected from the tool box, exactly 2 are defective, the order of selection can be {(D,
D, ND) or (D, ND, D) or (ND, D, D)} i.e. 3 ways
So, the required probability = 3 × Probability (Selecting two defective & one non-defective tool)

 3 2 7 7
 3       . (Note: - When an event can have different orders, we multiply the
 10 9 8  40
number of cases with the probability of one of the orders)

Hence, the answer is (C).

9. We know that the probabilities of selecting a number out of 4 different numbers are P1, P2, P3 &
P4 for four numbers; we need to check that which of the given values could be the individual
values of the four probabilities.

Since there are 4 numbers in the set and P1, P2, P3 & P4 are the probabilities of those four
numbers, the sum of their probabilities must be equal to 1 (The chances of selection of any one
the four numbers i.e. P1, P2, P3 & P4 in the set of 4 numbers only is 100% = 1).

The only option giving the sum of the probabilities 1 is option (C).

Hence the answer is (C).

10. 6 balls are marked 1 to 6. Two balls are picked at random we need to find the probability that the
sum of the numbers on the balls is 8.

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 The total number of ways two balls can be picked from 6 balls (numbered 1 to 6) is
65  n! 
6
C2   15  n
Cr  .
2  r!  n  r ! 

The combinations when the sum of the number on the balls is 8 are {(2, 6), (3, 5)} i.e. 2 cases.

Favourable number of outcomes 2

Hence the required probability   , so the answer is (B).
Total number of outcomes 15

2 4
11. We know that the probability that Ashley & Barrack do their homework is & respectively:
3 7
we need to find the probability that neither of them does the homework.

Since P  An event will happen   P  Event won’t happen   1 , the probability that Ashley &

 2 1  4 3
Barrack won’t do their homework will be 1    & 1    respectively.
 3 3  7 7

1 3 1
Hence the probability that neither Ashley nor Barrack does the homework =   , so the
3 7 7
answer is (A).

12. We know that the probability that Andrew & Bruce hit the target while shooting is
0.8 & 0.7 respectively: we need to find the probability that none of them hits the target.

Since P  An event will happen   P  Event won’t happen   1 , so the probability that
Andrew & Bruce won’t hit the target will be 1  0.8   0.2 & 1  0.7   0.3 respectively.

Hence the probability that neither Andrew nor Bruce hit the target = 0.2  0.3  0.06 , so the
answer is (B).

13. Out of the 7 people Daniel invites to his birthday party, 3 are his school friends & 4 are his
college friends; we need to find the probability that the two identical gifts that Daniel gives to his
friends were given to his college friends.

The probability that the two gifts were given to Daniel’s college friends is same as while the
selection of two friends out of 7 friends 2 college friends got selected.

Favourable number of outcomes

Finally as we know that Probability of an event  , the
Total number of outcomes
4 3 2
probability of the two gifts given two Daniel’s college friends =  
7 6 7

Hence the answer is (B).

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14. From a box containing 5 green, 3 black & 2 red balls, two balls are taken out at random without
replacement; we need to find the probability that the two balls selected are red.

Favourable number of outcomes

We know that Probability of an event  , so the probability
Total number of outcomes
2 1 1
of selecting two red balls from the bag without replacement   
10 9 45

Hence the answer is (A).

15. We know that two numbers are taken from 1,2,3,4,.....15; we need the find the
probability that the sum of the numbers is less than 7.

The number of ways two numbers can be taken from 1,2,3,4,......15. is

15 15  14  n! 
C2  1058

n
Cr  .
2 1  r!  n  r ! 

The combinations of two numbers from the given numbers whose sum is less than 13 is {(1, 2)
(1, 3), (1, 4), (1, 5), (2, 3), (2, 4), i.e. a total of 6 combinations

Favourable number of outcomes 6 2

Hence the required probability  =  , so the answer
Total number of outcomes 105 35
is (B).

16. The probability that Frances gets a line busy whenever she calls to Michael is 2/3. Also we know
that she makes one call to Michael on each of the four consecutive days; we need to compare the
probability that Frances gets the line busy on each of 4 days with ¼.

2
The probability of Frances getting line busy whenever she calls Michael = , so the probability
3
2 2 2 2 16
of getting line busy on each of the four days would be =    
3 3 3 3 81

16 1 1
Since fraction  (= column A) is less than (= column B) column B has higher
81 5.0625 4
quantity.

Hence the answer is (B).

17. A pair of dice is rolled; we need to find the probability that the sum of the numbers on the two
dice is 8.

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 Favourable number of outcomes
We know, Probability of an event 
Total number of outcomes

When two dice are rolled, the total number of outcomes is 6  6  36 and the outcomes having
sum of the numbers on the two dice 8 are  2, 6  ,  3,5  ,  4, 4  ,  6, 2  ,  5,3   i.e. 5 outcomes are
favorable.

5
Hence the required probability is , so the answer is (B).
36

18. A bag having more than 30 marbles contains only red & black marbles and the number of red
marbles in the bag is 5 times more than the number of black marbles. Five marbles are picked at
random from the bag; we need to compare the probability of drawing only red marbles with the
probability of drawing only the black marbles.

Whenever the favorable number of outcomes is higher, the probability is higher.

Since the number of red marbles is higher than the number of black marbles the probability of
drawing all 5 red marbles will surely be higher than the probability of drawing all 5 black
marbles.

Hence column A must have higher quantity, so the answer is (A).

19. A box contains 6 balls numbered 1 to 6 which implies all balls are different.

Two balls are selected from the box one after the other with replacement and the sum of the
numbers on the balls picked is 10, so the total number of possible outcomes is {(4, 6), (6, 4), (5,
5)} i.e. 3 only.

Since only 2 out of 3 outcomes have a 6, the probability that one of the balls picked was
2  Favourable number of outcomes 
numbered 6 is .  Pr obability of an event  
3  Total number of outcomes 

Hence the answer is (E).

20. An integer n is chosen from the integers 1 through 72; we need to find the probability that
n  n  1 n  2  is divisible by 8.

The product n  n  1 n  2  would be divisible by 8 for the following two cases

Case 1. n is an even integer, so there will be two even integers in the product i.e. n and (n + 2),
one would be a multiple of 2 and the other would be a multiple of 4. There would be 36 even
numbers from 1 to 72

Case 2. (n + 1) is a multiple of 8. As there are 9 multiples of 8 from 1 to 72, (n + 1) can take 9

different values (The values of n would be 1 less than the multiple of 8 i.e. 7, 15, 23 etc)

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 Finally there are a total of (36 + 9) = 45 favorable values of n for which the product
n  n  1 n  2  would be divisible by 8.

Favourable number of outcomes 45 5

Hence the required probability    , so the answer is
Total number of outcomes 72 8
(D).

21. There are two sets X  1, 2,3, 4,5 & Y  9, 8, 0,1, 2,3 . An integer randomly selected
from set X is multiplied with another integer randomly selected from set Y; we need to find the
probability that the product of the two integers selected will be positive.

Since set X and set Y has 5 & 6 elements respectively, the total number of ways in which a
selection of one element from each of the two sets can be made is 5  6  30

The product of the two integers selected can be positive if the integers selected are either both
positive or both negative. But as set X has no negative element, we would have to take positive
integers only from the two sets, so the number of favorable cases is 5  3  15 (Five options from
set X and only three options from set Y)

Favourable number of outcomes 15 1

Hence the required probability    , so the answer is
Total number of outcomes 30 2
(D).

22. As the probability of the toy manufactured being defective is 0.1, the probability of the toy being
good would be 1 – 0.1 = 0.9  P  An event will happen   P  Event won’t happen   1

We know that the shipment of the 5 boxes of toys gets rejected even if there is one toy found
defective, so the probability of the rejection of the shipment is same as probability of finding at
least one of the five toy boxes defective.

As the Probability (At least 1) = 1 – Probability (None), we get Probability (At least one of the
toys is defective) = 1 – Probability (None of the 5 boxes is defective)  1   0.9  .
5

Hence the answer is (D).

23. We know that from a class of 20 students where the numbers of girls equal the number of boys, 7
students are selected at random; the first 6 students selected are girls, we need to find the
probability that the 7th student selected is also a girl.

20
The number of boys in class = number of girls in class =  10 each.
2

Since the first 6 students selected were all girls, the number of remaining girls & the total number
of remaining students is (10 – 6) = 4 & (20 – 6) = 14 respectively.

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 4 2
Hence the probability of that the 7th student selected is also a girl =  , so the answer is (A).
14 7

1
24. Probability of raining on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday is each whereas the probability of
6
2 4
raining on Monday & Friday is & respectively; we need to find the probability that the rain
5 5
will occur on at least one of the 5 days.

We know that P(At least 1) = 1 – P(None), so the probability(the rain will occur on at least one of
the five days) = 1 – Probability of (Rain on none of the five days) which is same as
3 3
 2  1  4 3 5 1 5 67
1  1    1    1    1       1  
 5  6  5 5 6 5 72 72

Hence the answer is (D).

25. We know that the probability that Adem & Ben hit the target is 0.4 & 0.7 respectively: we need
to find the probability that none of them hits the target.

Probability that Adem & Ben won’t hit the target will be
1  0.4   0.6 & 1  0.7   0.3 respectively
 P  An event will happen   P  Event won’t happen   1 .
Hence the probability that neither Adem nor Ben hit the target is 0.6  0.3  0.18 , so the answer
is (B).

26. The odds against A being selected for a job are 3: 5 imply that the probability of the rejection of

A for a job is
3

35 8
3
 
 A whereas the probability of A’s selection is
5 5
  A
35 8

Similarly the odds in favor of B being selected are 5: 6 imply that the probability of selection and

rejection of B is
5 5
   B &
5  6 11
6

6
5  6 11
 
 B respectively.

Now, the probability of A & B both being selected = Probability (A selected)  Probability (B
5 5 25
selected)  P  A   P  B    
8 11 88

 
Next the probability that exactly one of A & B is selected  P A  P  B   P  A   P B  
3 5 5 6 15  30 45
     
8 11 8 11 88 88

Hence options (B) & (D) are correct. .

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27. We know that the probability of the selection of A & B in an interview is 0.3 & 0.7 respectively;
we need to find the probability that exactly one of A & B is selected in the interview.

Since probability of the selection of A & B in the interview is 0.3 (= A) & 0.7 (= B) respectively,
 
we get the probabilities of their rejections in the interview would be 1 – 0.3 = 0.7  A & 1 –

 
0.7 = 0.3  B respectively. ( P(An event will happen) + P(Event won’t happen) = 1)

Finally the probability that exactly one of A & B got selected in the interview is
       
P A  P  B  or P  A   P B  P A  P  B   P  A   P B  0.7  0.7  0.3  0.3  0.58

Hence the answer is 0.58.

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