Question

You have 6 books on your shelf. You notice that 3 of them have red covers, and 3 of them have blue covers.If you choose 2 books from your shelf at random, what is the probability that 1 will have a red cover and 1 will have a blue cover?Enter your answer as a fraction in simplest form, using the / symbol, like this: 42/53

Answer 1

3/10

There's a 3 out of 6 chance that you will pick a book with a red cover, or 3/6. Now, there are 5 books left, and 2 are red and 3 are blue. the probability of picking a blue book is now 3 out of 5, or 3/5.
The probability of these 2 events happening together is found by multiplying the 2 probabilities:
3/6 × 3/5 = 9/30
this fraction is then simplified:
9/30 = 3/10

The answer is 3/10.