Final answer:
To find the probability of the sale happening in a month beginning with J or A, we calculate it as the number of such months (5) divided by the total number of months (12), giving us a probability of 5/12 or about 41.67%.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the probability that a storeowner's annual "Going Out of Business Sale" will be in a month that begins with the letter J or A, we first identify those months. The months starting with J are January, June, and July. The months starting with A are April and August. So, we have a total of 5 months that meet the criteria out of 12 possible months in a year.
The probability (P) of an event is given by the number of favorable outcomes (f) divided by the total number of possible outcomes (t), or P = f/t. In this case, the favorable outcomes are the months that start with J or A, and the total possible outcomes are all the months of the year.
Therefore, the probability that the sale will be in a month starting with J or A is given by:
P = Number of months starting with J or A / Total number of months
P = 5/12
So, the probability is 5/12 or approximately 0.4167 (which is 41.67%).