Sure, let's tackle this problem step by step!
1. We start our problem with feeling out the whole situation. The total time for one complete cycle of the traffic light (red, green, yellow) is the sum of the time each light is on.
Given that red is on for 35 seconds, green for 45 seconds and yellow for 4 seconds, our total time is 35 (red) + 45 (green) + 4 (yellow) = 84 seconds.
2. Next, we need to determine the probability that the light will be a particular color.
The probability can be calculated by dividing the time that color is on by the total time.
- So the probability of the light being red is 35 (time red is on) / 84 (total time) which gives us approximately 0.4167.
- The probability of it being green is 45 (time green is on) / 84 (total time) which equals approximately 0.5357.
- And, lastly, the probability of it being yellow is 4 (time yellow is on) / 84 (total time) coming out to approximately 0.0476.
3. The final step to complete our solution is to determine the probability of the light being either green or yellow.
The probability of the light being either green or yellow is simply the sum of the probabilities of it being green and it being yellow.
That is, Probability (Green or Yellow) = Probability (Green) + Probability (Yellow) = 0.5357 (green's probability) + 0.0476 (yellow's probability), equating to approximately 0.5833.
This suggests a more than half chance of our light being either green or yellow when a person approaches the traffic light.
And that's our solution!