SOLUTION: A drawer contains 4 red socks, 6 white socks, and 8 blue socks. Without looking, you draw out a sock, return it, and draw out a second sock. What is the probability that the first

Question 974002: A drawer contains 4 red socks, 6 white socks, and 8 blue socks. Without looking, you draw out a sock, return it, and draw out a second sock. What is the probability that the first sock is red and the second sock is blue
Answer by KMST(5328) (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
, so there are socks in the drawer.
Since of them are red,
and any sock is as likely to be picked as any other,
the probability that the first sock picked is red is .
Before the second pick, there are socks in the drawer.
Since of them are blue,
and any sock is as likely to be picked as any other,
the probability that the second sock picked is blue is .
Whatever happened during the fist pick does not matter .
The two events are independent (and your teacher says to multiply the two probabilities when events are independent).
There is a good logical reason for multiplying:
For a first pick, of the times you would get a red sock,
and of those times, your second pick would be blue.
So of = of the times
you would pick a red sock on your first try and a blue sock on your second pick.
The probability of that chain of events is .
RELATED QUESTIONS
A drawer contains 10 red socks, 6 white socks, and 8 blue socks. Without looking, you... (answered by ikleyn)

A drawer contains 2 red socks, 4 white socks, and 10 blue socks. Without looking, you... (answered by swincher4391)

A drawer contains 4 red socks, 7 white socks, and 11 blue socks. Without looking, you... (answered by stanbon)

A drawer contains 4 red socks, 6 white socks, and 10 blue socks. Without looking, you... (answered by stanbon)

A drawer contains 4 single red socks, 9 single white socks, and 2 single blue socks.... (answered by stanbon)

A drawer contains 4 red socks, 10 white socks, and 9 blue socks. Without looking, you... (answered by sudhanshu_kmr)

There is a drawer with 10 red socks,10 white socks and 2 blue socks. You draw out one... (answered by Fombitz)

In your sock drawer you have 6 brown socks, 4 black socks and 8 white socks. without... (answered by stanbon)

A drawer contains 5 red socks, 10 white socks, and 3 blue socks. Without looking, you... (answered by stanbon)