Two marbles are drawn in succession from a box containing red, white, blue, and orange marbles, with replacement being made after each drawing. Then the probability that the first drawn marble is red and the second drawn marble is white is:
- A
- B
- C
- D
Two marbles are drawn in succession from a box containing red, white, blue, and orange marbles, with replacement being made after each drawing. Then the probability that the first drawn marble is red and the second drawn marble is white is:
Correct answer:D
Standard Method
Given: A box contains red, white, blue, and orange marbles. Two marbles are drawn with replacement.
Find: The probability that the first marble is red and the second marble is white.
First, calculate the total number of marbles:
The probability of drawing a red marble first is:
Since replacement is made, the total number of marbles remains for the second draw. So the probability of drawing a white marble second is:
These two events are independent, so multiply their probabilities:
Therefore, the probability that the first drawn marble is red and the second drawn marble is white is . The correct option is D.
Approach Solution - 2
Given: The numbers of marbles are , , , and for red, white, blue, and orange respectively, and replacement is made after the first draw.
Find: The probability of getting red first and white second.
Using the direct multiplication approach:
Probability of red on the first draw:
Probability of white on the second draw:
Therefore,
Hence, the required probability is and the correct option is D.
Multiplying by the probability without using replacement correctly. If replacement is ignored, the denominator for the second draw changes. Here replacement makes the two draws independent, so the second denominator remains .
Using the wrong total number of marbles. Students may forget to add all four colours. The correct total is .
Adding the probabilities of red first and white second instead of multiplying them. Since both events must occur in sequence, use the product rule, not the sum rule.
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