Answer:
Explanation:
To find the probability that two selected students are female, we first need to determine the number of female students in the class.
Total number of students in the class = 40
Number of male students = 23
To find the number of female students, we subtract the number of male students from the total number of students:
Number of female students = Total number of students - Number of male students
Number of female students = 40 - 23 = 17
Now, we can calculate the probability of selecting a female student as the first student:
Probability of selecting a female student as the first student = Number of female students / Total number of students
Probability of selecting a female student as the first student = 17 / 40
After the first female student is selected, the number of female students decreases by 1, and the total number of students decreases by 1 as well. Therefore, for the second student to be female, the probability is:
Probability of selecting a female student as the second student = (Number of female students - 1) / (Total number of students - 1)
Probability of selecting a female student as the second student = (17 - 1) / (40 - 1)
To find the probability of both events happening (selecting a female student as the first student and a female student as the second student), we multiply the probabilities:
Probability of selecting two female students = Probability of selecting a female student as the first student * Probability of selecting a female student as the second student
Probability of selecting two female students = (17 / 40) * (16 / 39)
Calculating this expression, we find:
Probability of selecting two female students ≈ 0.221
Therefore, the probability that two selected students are female is approximately 0.221 or 22.1%.