Use the table to answer the question.

This table shows the number of white and red balls selected from Bowl A and Bowl B.
Number of White Balls Selected Number of Red Balls Selected
Bowl A 5 15
Bowl B 16 4
Bowls A and B contain a number of white and red balls. Simon repeatedly selected a ball from both bowls and recorded the results in a table. If there are 36 balls in Bowl A, estimate the number of white balls based on Simon’s results.

(1 point)
Responses

18
18

10
10

27
27

9

1 answer

To estimate the number of white balls in Bowl A based on the results, we can use the ratio of white to red balls selected.

From the table:

  • Bowl A: 5 white balls and 15 red balls.
  • Total selections from Bowl A = 5 + 15 = 20 balls.

The proportion of white balls in Bowl A is: \[ \text{Proportion of white balls in Bowl A} = \frac{5}{20} = \frac{1}{4} \]

Now, since we know that there are 36 balls in Bowl A, we can estimate the number of white balls (let's denote it as \( W \)) and red balls (let's denote it as \( R \)) by the equations: \[ W + R = 36 \] Given that the proportion of white balls is \( \frac{1}{4} \), we can write: \[ \frac{W}{W + R} = \frac{1}{4} \]

From the first equation, we can express \( R \) as: \[ R = 36 - W \]

Substituting this into the proportion equation gives: \[ \frac{W}{36} = \frac{1}{4} \]

Cross-multiplying to solve for \( W \): \[ 4W = 36 \] \[ W = 9 \]

Therefore, the estimated number of white balls in Bowl A is 9.

Final answer: 9