Question

A bowl contains candies of the same size in three flavors: orange, strawberry, and pineapple. If the probability of randomly pulling out an orange candy is fraction 2 over 8, and the probability of randomly pulling out a strawberry candy is fraction 1 over 8, what is the probability of randomly pulling out a pineapple candy?

Answer 1

The probability of randomly pulling out a pineapple candy would be 5 over 8. Because there are 8 candies total (this is the denominator) and only 3 flavors, you just simply add the two given candies, which is 2 + 1 = 3, and subtract the sum (which is 3) by 8. Therefore, 8 - 3 = 5 and you put that as the numerator and the total number of candies, 8, as the denominator.