document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=1154917>Question 1154917</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> There are three boxes containing black and white balls. The number of each color is Box 1, 4 white and 2 black; Box 2, 3 white and 2 black; Box 3, 1 white and 2 black.<BR>\n" );
document.write( "A) What is the probability that the last ball, drawn from box 3 is white?<BR>\n" );
document.write( "B) What is the probability that the last ball drawn is black? </SPAN>\n" );
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document.write( "A) There are 3 balls in box 3; 1 of them is white:<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "P(last ball drawn from box 3 is white) = 1/3.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "B) In the 3 boxes together, there are a total of 14 balls, of which 8 are white:<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "P(last ball drawn (from any box) is white) = 8/14 = 4/7.<br><BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Note that I ignored the comma (\",\") in part A.  That makes the probability to be found simply the probability that the white ball is the last one drawn from box 3.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "If the question in part A had been written with two commas -- <br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "\"What is the probability that the last ball, drawn from box 3, is white?\"<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "then that would be a different probability: the probability that the last ball drawn is white, AND THAT IT COMES FROM BOX 3.  That would of course be a different problem.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( "The question as written, with the single comma, is grammatically incorrect and therefore open to different interpretations.<br><BR>\n" );
document.write( " </SPAN>\n" );
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