Question

7. Laura is conducting an experiment in which she draws a straw. Some of the straws are short,

and some are long. For each trial, she draws a straw, records the result, and replaces the
straw. The table shows the results of 50 trials of the experiment.
Laura will conduct 10 more trials of the experiment. Based on the results in the table, how many of these additional trials will have a result of a a short straw being drawn. :)

Answer 1

7

Explanation:

Experimental probability is based on the actual results of an experiment (gathered by experimenting repeatedly).

It is calculated by dividing the recorded number of times an event happens by the total number of trials in the actual experiment:

`\boxed{\textsf{Experimental Probability} = \frac{\textsf{Number of times an event happens}}{\textsf{Total number of trials}}}`

As the number of trials increases, we would expect for the experimental probability to get closer to the theoretical probability.

Given:

• Total number of trials = 50
• Recorded number of short straws = 35

The experimental probability of drawing a short straw is:

`\implies \sf P(short\;straw)=(35)/(50)=(7)/(10)`

If Laura conducts 10 further trials of the experiment, based on the results in the table, the number of additional trials that will have a result of a short straw being drawn is:

`\begin{aligned}\implies \textsf{Additional trials (short straw)} &=\sf experimental\;probability * number\;of\;trials\\&= \sf (7)/(10) * 10\\&= \sf 7\end{aligned}`