Question

In the United States, 35% of all adults own a cellphone and a landline, 89% of all adults own a cellphone. What is the probability that an adult owns a landline given that they own a cellphone?

Answer 1

To find the probability that an adult owns a landline given that they own a cellphone, we can use conditional probability. Given the information that 35% of all adults own both a cellphone and a landline, and 89% of all adults own a cellphone, we can calculate the probability using the formula P(Landline | Cellphone) = P(Landline and Cellphone) / P(Cellphone), which results in 0.394.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the probability that an adult owns a landline given that they own a cellphone, we need to use conditional probability. Conditional probability is the likelihood of one event occurring given that another event has already occurred. In this case, the event of owning a landline is dependent on the event of owning a cellphone.

We are given that 35% of all adults own both a cellphone and a landline, and 89% of all adults own a cellphone. The probability of owning a landline given that they own a cellphone can be calculated using the formula:

P(Landline | Cellphone) = P(Landline and Cellphone) / P(Cellphone)

Substituting the given values:

P(Landline | Cellphone) = (35% / 100%) / (89% / 100%) = 0.394 (rounded to three decimal places)