Question

The probability that Caroline wins a raffle is given by the expression

m/n.
Write down an expression, in the form of a combined single fraction, for the probability that Caroline does not win.

Answer 1

Answer:
`(n-m)/(n)`

This is the same as writing (n-m)/n

Don't forget about the parenthesis if you go with the second option.

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Step-by-step explanation:

The probability that she wins is m/n, where m,n are placeholders for positive whole numbers.

For instance, m = 2 and n = 5 leads to m/n = 2/5. This would mean that out of n = 5 chances, she wins m = 2 times.

The probability of her not winning is 1 - (m/n). We subtract the probability of winning from 1 to get the probability of losing.

We could leave the answer like this, but your teacher says that the answer must be "in the form of a combined single fraction".

Doing a bit of algebra would have these steps

`1 - (m)/(n)\\\\(n)/(n) - (m)/(n)\\\\(n-m)/(n)\\\\`

and now the expression is one single fraction.