Question

In a group of 45 boys, 17 own a laptop, 19 own desktop computers, and 7 own both. Find the probability that a boy picked from this group at random owns either a laptop or a desktop computer?

Answer 1

The probability that a boy picked at random owns either a laptop or a desktop computer is 29/45.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the probability that a boy picked at random owns either a laptop or a desktop computer, we can use the principle of inclusion-exclusion. We know that there are 17 boys who own a laptop, 19 boys who own a desktop computer, and 7 boys who own both. Therefore, the total number of boys who own either a laptop or a desktop computer is equal to the sum of boys who own a laptop and boys who own a desktop computer, minus the number of boys who own both.

Total boys who own either a laptop or a desktop computer = 17 + 19 - 7 = 29.

So, the probability that a boy picked at random owns either a laptop or a desktop computer is 29/45.