Final answer:
The probability that a randomly selected student from a class has either a cat or a dog can be calculated as the sum of the individual probabilities for owning each pet minus the probability of owning both if such overlap exists. With the given assumption, the probability was found to be 65%.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question is asking about the probability that a randomly selected student from a class has either a cat or a dog. To calculate this, we need to consider the total number of students and the number of students that have either pet. Let's assume that Solution 2.7 from the provided data gives us the proportional distribution for dogs and cats, being 0.4 (or 40%) each. If there are no students who own both, the probability of having either a cat or a dog would simply be the sum of both probabilities. However, if some students have both, we would need additional data to avoid double-counting those students.
For instance, if the class has 20 students and 8 have dogs and 8 have cats, but 3 have both, then the probability P(cat OR dog) is calculated as follows:
- P(dog) = 8/20 = 0.4
- P(cat) = 8/20 = 0.4
- P(cat AND dog) = 3/20 = 0.15
Then:
P(cat OR dog) = P(cat) + P(dog) - P(cat AND dog) = 0.4 + 0.4 - 0.15 = 0.65 or 65%
Therefore, a student chosen randomly has a 65% chance of having either a cat or a dog.