What is the number of blue balls in the second urn?

In summary, the conversation discusses two urns, one with 10 balls (4 red, 6 blue) and the other with 16 red balls and an unknown number of blue balls. The probability of drawing two balls of the same color is .44. Using this information, the number of blue balls in the second urn is calculated to be 4.
  • #1
Houdini1
5
0
Question:
An urn contains 10 balls: 4 red and 6 blue. A second urn contains 16 red balls and an unknown number of blue balls. A single ball is drawn from each urn. The probability that both balls are the same color is .44. Calculate the number of blue balls in the second urn.

My attempt
I don't know the best notation to use for this situation. I am going to try \(\displaystyle P(R_1)\) as the probability of drawing a red ball from the first urn. So we have \(\displaystyle P(R_1)=.4 \text{ and } P(B_1)=.6\). To express the probability of both balls being a single color it seems there are two cases to consider which we should add: \(\displaystyle P(R_1 \cap R_2)+P(B_1 \cap B_2)\). Am I correct in thinking that for mutually exclusive events that's the same as \(\displaystyle P(R_1 \cdot R_2)+P(B_1 \cdot B_2)\)?

I know the basic ways to manipulate these using DeMorgan's Laws but I'm missing the first step or have set up the problem entirely incorrectly. I have the solution key but I don't want the full solution yet.
 
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  • #2
Houdini said:
Question:
An urn contains 10 balls: 4 red and 6 blue. A second urn contains 16 red balls and an unknown number of blue balls. A single ball is drawn from each urn. The probability that both balls are the same color is .44. Calculate the number of blue balls in the second urn.
I would solve the following:
[tex]\frac{4}{10}\frac{16}{16+x}+\frac{6}{10}\frac{x}{16+x}=\frac{44}{100}[/tex].
 
  • #3
Makes perfect sense. I've been trying to use all of these set rules that I missed it. So x=4 and plugging that in confirms.
 

FAQ: What is the number of blue balls in the second urn?

What is the definition of probability?

Probability is a measure of the likelihood of an event occurring. It is represented as a number between 0 and 1, with 0 meaning impossible and 1 meaning certain.

How is the probability of two events calculated?

The probability of two events occurring together is calculated by multiplying the individual probabilities of each event. This is known as the "multiplication rule" of probability.

What is the difference between independent and dependent events?

Independent events are events that do not affect each other's probability of occurring. For example, flipping a coin twice does not affect the outcome of the second flip. Dependent events, on the other hand, are events that do affect each other's probability. For example, drawing two cards from a deck without replacing the first card will change the probability of drawing a certain card for the second draw.

What is the difference between mutually exclusive and non-mutually exclusive events?

Mutually exclusive events are events that cannot occur at the same time. For example, rolling a 3 and rolling a 6 on a die are mutually exclusive events. Non-mutually exclusive events, on the other hand, can occur at the same time. For example, rolling an even number and rolling a number greater than 4 on a die are non-mutually exclusive events.

How do you calculate the probability of two non-mutually exclusive events?

To calculate the probability of two non-mutually exclusive events, you must subtract the probability of both events occurring from the sum of their individual probabilities. This is known as the "addition rule" of probability.

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