Question

The table shown classifies the 35 students in a
college statistics course by year (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)
and type of major (Humanities, Sciences, Other). A
student from this course will be selected at random.
What is the probability that the student's major is
Humanities?

Answer 1

The correct answer is 0.45 or 45%

Explanation:

In this case, the probability of selecting a student whose major is Humanities can be calculated by finding the number of Humanities students, which is considered as the desired outcome, and dividing this by the total of outcomes or students. The process to find the probability is shown below:

$P = \frac{Desired outcomes}{Total outcomes}$

$P= \frac{Students from Humanities}{Total students}$

$Students of Humanities = 5 + 5 + 3 + 3 = 16 students$ (Add the students of each year that are part of Humanities)

$Total of students = 35$ (This number is provided in the question but can also be found by adding all numbers in the table)

$P = \frac{16}{35}$

$P = 0.45$

Multiply the probability by 100 to know its equivalent in percentages 0.45 x 100 = 45. This means the probability that a student of humanities is selected is 0.45 or 45%.