Question

he class is trying to determine who will take care of the class hamster for the weekend. In order to win the chance, you must flip heads on a coin and then spin an even number on a spinner with 9 equal sections labeled from 1 - 9. What is the probability of winning the chance to take care of the hamster?

Answer 1

2/9

Explanation:

Coin

A coin has 1 side heads and 1 side tails.

total number of possible outcomes = 2

desired outcome: heads

number of desired outcomes = 1

p(event) = (number of desired outcomes)/(total number of possible outcomes)

p(heads) = 1/2

Spinner

The spinner has 9 sections of equal size.

possible outcomes: the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

total number of possible outcomes = 9

desired outcome: even number

number of desired outcomes = 4

p(event) = (number of desired outcomes)/(total number of possible outcomes)

p(even number) = 4/9

Combined probability

The coin and spinner are independent events. The overall probability of independent events is the product of the individual probabilities.

p(heads then even) = 1/2 × 4/9 = 4/18 = 2/9

Answer: 2/9