Question

A box contains 5 plain pencils and 7 pens. A second box contains 3 color pencils and 3 crayons. One item from each box is chosen at random. What is the probability that a plain pencil from the first box and a color pencil from the second box are selected?

Answer 1

Multiply the two desired probabilities to find the answer.

5/12 is the probability for the plain pencil since there are 5 pencils out of 12 total items.

1/2 is the probability for the colored pencil since there are 3 colored pencils out of 6 total items. 3/6 simplifies to 1/2.

5/12*1/2= 5/24

Final answer: 5/24