Question

Mary placed a bag containing one red ball, one blue ball, and one green ball on a table. She drew the three balls, one at a time, from the bag without looking. The list below shows all the possible combinations of the outcome.

RBG, RGB, BRG, BGR, GRB, GBR

Is Mary more likely to draw a red ball followed by a green ball or a blue ball among the first two balls to be drawn?

A. Mary is more likely to draw a red ball followed by a green ball, because 4/6 > 2/6

B. Mary is more likely to draw a blue ball among the first two balls to be drawn, because 4/6 > 2/6

C. Mary is more likely to draw a blue ball among the first two balls to be drawn, because 5/6 > 2/6

D. Mary is more likely to draw a red ball followed by a green ball, because 5/6 > 2/6

Answer 1

The list shows that there are two combinations that include a red ball followed by a green ball (RBG and GRB), while there is only one combination that includes a blue ball among the first two balls to be drawn (BGR). Therefore, Mary is more likely to draw a red ball followed by a green ball, as there are two out of six possible outcomes, or a probability of 2/6, which simplifies to 1/3.

Option A correctly states that 4/6 is greater than 2/6, but this does not answer the question as it does not take into account the specific colors being drawn. Option B incorrectly states that Mary is more likely to draw a blue ball among the first two balls to be drawn, as there is only one combination that includes a blue ball in the first two draws. Option C incorrectly states that 5/6 is greater than 2/6, which is not relevant to the question at hand. Option D correctly states that Mary is more likely to draw a red ball followed by a green ball, as there are two possible outcomes out of six. Therefore, the correct answer is D.