document.write( "Question 637500: A jar contains 24 red and blue marbles. If the probability of selecting a red marble at random is 3/8, then how many red marbles must be added so that the probability of randomly selecting a red marble becomes 1/2 ? \r
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document.write( "(1) 3/8 = x/24
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document.write( " 3[24]= 8x
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document.write( " 72 = 8x
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document.write( " 9 = x\r
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document.write( "(2) 9 red marbles
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document.write( " 24-9 = 15 blue marbles\r
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document.write( "(3) 15-9 = 6 more red marbles\r
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document.write( "(4) [9+6]/[24+6]= 15/30 = 1/2\r
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document.write( "On step 3 I did not really know what to do so I just guessed and played with
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document.write( "numbers. I finally arrived at an answer when I subtracted the red marbles from the blue marbles, but I do not understand why this works.Guessing,checking,and luck will take a long time on an exam. How do I solve these type of problems? For example what would I do if I needed to find how many more red marbles are needed to go from a probability of 3/8 to 209/698? Please explain.\r
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document.write( "PS: What concepts do I need to review or learn in order to work problems like this or more difficult ones in this area?\r
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document.write( "I am sorry this is so long, but I would sincerely appreciate your time and effort with my dilemma.\r
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document.write( " - disgruntled student(Konny)
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Algebra.Com's Answer #401757 by DrBeeee(684)![]() ![]() ![]() You can put this solution on YOUR website! This may help your step 3. \n" ); document.write( "Let x = number of red marbles to add to get 50% \n" ); document.write( "You correctly calculated that there are 9 red marbles in the jar. The jar contains a total of 24 marbles is a given. \n" ); document.write( "You want add x red marbles to the 9 to end up with (9+x) which is 50% or 1/2 the total number, which is now (24 + x) because you also add x to the total. \n" ); document.write( "This results in the same ratio that you have, except you deduced that x = 6. That is you now have the algebraic equation \n" ); document.write( "(9+x)/(24+x) = 1/2 \n" ); document.write( "Using cross multiplication we get \n" ); document.write( "2*(9+x) = (24+x) or \n" ); document.write( "18 + 2x = 24 + x \n" ); document.write( "x = 24 - 18 \n" ); document.write( "x = 6 \n" ); document.write( "Answer: You need to add 6 red marbles. \n" ); document.write( "Now you can rely on your math skill. However, don't toss out your super deductive reasoning. \n" ); document.write( " |