Question

A high school basketball court is 25.6 meters long and 15.2 meters wide and has a free throw box 5.8 meters long and 3.7 meters wide. A bouncy ball is thrown onto the court from the top of the bleachers and is equally likely to land anywhere on the court. What is the probability that the ball will bounce on the court but outside of the free throw box? When applicable, round your answer to two decimal places and include all necessary calculations

Answer 1

To find the probability of the ball landing outside the free throw box but on the court you find the total area of the court and subtract the area of the free throw box.

Then create a ratio with the part of the court not with the free throw box and the total court area. Divide these.

Total area = 25.6 x 15.2 =389.12 square meters

Free throw space = 5.8 x 3.7=
21.46 square meters

389.12-21.46=367.66 square meters

367.66/389.12=0.95

There is a 0.95 probability that it will land on the court outside of the free throw box.