Question

A scientist finds that on one side of a mountain 35 cacti have purple flowers and 16 have white flowers. If he goes to the other side of the mountain, what is the experimental probability that the first cactus he comes across has white flowers?

Answer 1

The experimental probability it 16/51

Answer 2

Answer: The experimental probability that the first cactus he comes across has white flowers is 16/51.

Explanation:

Since,

`\text{Experimental probability} = \frac{\text{Number of event occurrence}}{\text{Number of trials}}`

Let W represents the event of occurrence of white flower and P represents the occurrence of purple flower,

Then, According to the question,

n(P) = 35 and n(W) = 16

Also, the total number of trials, n(S) = 35 + 16 = 51

Thus, the probability of occurring white flower is,

`P(W)=(n(W))/(n(S))=(16)/(51)`