Question

There are 25 balls in a jar. Twelve (12) balls are red, 10 balls are blue, and 3 balls are white. Which of the following describes the likelihood of randomly picking a white ball?(1 point)
Responses

impossible
impossible

very unlikely
very unlikely

likely
likely

less likely than not
less likely than not

Answer 1

To determine the likelihood of picking a white ball, we need to consider the number of white balls and the total number of balls in the jar.

There are 3 white balls and a total of 25 balls in the jar.

The probability of picking a white ball can be calculated as follows:

\[ \text{Probability of picking a white ball} = \frac{\text{Number of white balls}}{\text{Total number of balls}} = \frac{3}{25} \]

This probability is approximately 0.12 or 12%.

Given this probability, we can assess the likelihood of picking a white ball:

- **Impossible** would mean that there are no white balls, which is not the case here.
- **Very unlikely** would generally indicate a probability very close to 0.
- **Likely** suggests a high probability (greater than 50%).
- **Less likely than not** suggests a probability less than 50% but still possible.

Since the probability of picking a white ball (12%) is less than 50%, but not impossible, the best description of the likelihood of randomly picking a white ball is **"less likely than not."**