Question

The prizes at a carnival tossing game are different stuffed animals. There are 34 tigers, 27 bears, 12 hippopotamuses, 16 giraffes, and 22 monkeys. The carnival manager randomly selects a prize when a player wins the game. Determine the probability that the prize selected is not a hippopotamus. Give your answer as a decimal, precise to three decimal places.

Answer 1

Explanation:

Your first step is to find the total number of animals, no matter what they are.

34 + 27 + 12 + 16 + 22 = 111 animals.

You could add all the numbers other than the 12 hippopotamuses together. If you did, you would get 99.

The answer is 99/111 = 0.892

Sometimes it is just easier to do the following. Find the the probability of getting a hippo and subtract that from 1.

12/111 = 0.108

And subtract this number from 1. One represents all of the possible animals.

1 - 0.108 = 0.892

Later on, when you get problems that are more complicated, the second way is the way to do it. It gives you lest grief.