Question

Suppose the composition of the 107th Senate is 45 Republicans, 50 Democrats, and 5 Independents. A new committee is being formed to study ways to benefit the arts in education. If 3 senators are selected at random to head the committee, find the probability of the following:

Part 1. The group of 3 consists of all Republicans.
Part 2. The group of 3 consists of all Democrats.
Part 3. The group of 3 consists of 1 from each party, including the Independent.

Answer 1

1 : 0.088

2 : 0.12

3 : 0.07

Explanation:

45 Rebullicans

50 Democrats

5 independents

Total = 100

Selection = 3

Part 1:

(45 C 3) / (100 C 3) = 0.088

Part 2:

(50 C 3) / (100 C 3) = 0.12

Part 3:

(45 C 1) x (50 C 1) x (5 C 1) / (100 C 3) = 0.07