Question

A box contains 7 plain pencils and 1 pen. A second box contains 3 color pencils and 3 crayons. One item from

each box is chosen at random. What is the probability that a pen from the first box and a crayon from the
second box are selected?
Write your answer as a fraction in simplest form.

Answer 1

The probability of selecting a pen from the first box is 1/8 (since there is only 1 pen out of 8 items in the box). The probability of selecting a crayon from the second box is 3/6 (since there are 3 crayons out of 6 items in the box).

To find the probability of both events happening together, we multiply the probabilities:

P(pen and crayon) = P(pen) x P(crayon)

P(pen and crayon) = (1/8) x (3/6)

Simplifying the fraction 3/6 to 1/2:

P(pen and crayon) = (1/8) x (1/2)

Multiplying the numerators and denominators:

P(pen and crayon) = 1/16

Therefore, the probability of selecting a pen from the first box and a crayon from the second box is 1/16.