Question

A box contains

7

plain pencils and
3

pens. A second box contains
5

color pencils and
5

crayons. One item from each box is chosen at random. What is the probability that a plain pencil from the first box and a color pencil from the second box are selected?

Answer 1

box 1 :
7 plain pencils, 3 pens...total of 10 writing utensils

box 2 :
5 color pencils, 5 crayons...total of 10 writing utensils

probability of choosing plain pencil from box 1 is : 7/10
probability of picking color pencil from box 2 is : 5/10 = 1/2

probability of both is : 7/10 * 1/2 = 7/20 or 35%

Answer 2

the first one is 7/10 and the second one is 5/10