Question

The letters in the word Paris are written on slips of paper and placed in a bag. Each letter will be put back after it is drawn. What is P(r, then vowel)?
A. one fifth
B. two fifths
C. three fifths
D. two over twenty-five

Answer 1

The word Paris has five letters: P, A, R, I, and S. Since each letter is replaced after it is drawn, the probability of getting P on the first draw is 1/5 (there is one P out of five letters).

Now, there are four letters left in the bag, including two vowels (A and I) and two consonants (R and S). Therefore, the probability of drawing a vowel on the second draw, given that P was drawn first, is 2/4 or 1/2 (there are two vowels out of four letters).

To find the probability of both events happening (P first, then vowel), we multiply their probabilities:

P(P, then vowel) = P(P) x P(vowel after P)

P(P, then vowel) = 1/5 x 1/2

P(P, then vowel) = 1/10

Therefore, the answer is A. One fifth.