A basket of fruits contains 20 apples for watermelon slices and 12 oranges if a piece of fruit is to be selected randomly from the box what is the probability of selecting an apple or an orange would the answer be 32/30 620/30 612/36 or 16/36

1 answer

To find the probability of selecting an apple or an orange, we need to first calculate the total number of fruits in the basket.

The basket contains 20 apples, 4 watermelon slices (considered as 4 fruits), and 12 oranges. So, the total number of fruits in the basket is 20 + 4 + 12 = 36.

Now, the probability of selecting an apple or an orange is the sum of the individual probabilities of selecting an apple and an orange.

Probability of selecting an apple = Number of apples / Total number of fruits = 20 / 36 = 5/9
Probability of selecting an orange = Number of oranges / Total number of fruits = 12 / 36 = 1/3

Probability of selecting an apple or an orange = Probability of selecting an apple + Probability of selecting an orange
= 5/9 + 1/3
= 5/9 + 3/9
= 8/9

Therefore, the probability of selecting an apple or an orange from the basket is 8/9.
The closest answer choice to this is 16/36, which can be simplified to 8/18 or 4/9.