The best player on a basketball team makes 70​% of all free throws. The​ second-best player makes 65​% of all free throws. The​ third-best player makes 60​% of all free throws. Based on their experimental​ probabilities, estimate the number of free throws each player will make in his or her next 60 attempts. Explain.

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Part 1
For the best​ player, one equation that gives the estimated number of free throws is
StartFraction 70 Over 100 EndFraction equals StartFraction x Over 60 EndFraction .
The best player will make about
  
42 free throws.
Part 2
For the​ second-best player, one equation that gives the estimated number of free throws is

StartFraction 65 Over 100 EndFraction equals y.
StartFraction 65 Over 100 EndFraction equals StartFraction y Over 60 EndFraction .
StartFraction 65 Over 100 EndFraction equals StartFraction 1 Over y EndFraction .
StartFraction 65 Over 100 EndFraction equals StartFraction 60 Over y EndFraction .
The​ second-best player will make about
  
enter your response here free throws.

1 answer

To estimate the number of free throws each player will make in their next 60 attempts based on their free throw percentages, we can set up equations similar to the one for the best player.

Part 1

You already have calculated the number of free throws for the best player:

Best Player (70%): \[ \frac{70}{100} = \frac{x}{60} \]

Cross-multiplying: \[ 70 \times 60 = 100 \times x \] \[ 4200 = 100x \] \[ x = \frac{4200}{100} = 42 \]

The best player will make about 42 free throws.

Part 2

For the second-best player (65%), we use the following equation:

Second-Best Player (65%): \[ \frac{65}{100} = \frac{y}{60} \]

Cross-multiplying: \[ 65 \times 60 = 100 \times y \] \[ 3900 = 100y \] \[ y = \frac{3900}{100} = 39 \]

The second-best player will make about 39 free throws.

Part 3

Now for the third-best player (60%), we can set up a similar equation:

Third-Best Player (60%): \[ \frac{60}{100} = \frac{z}{60} \]

Cross-multiplying: \[ 60 \times 60 = 100 \times z \] \[ 3600 = 100z \] \[ z = \frac{3600}{100} = 36 \]

The third-best player will make about 36 free throws.

Summary

  • Best Player: 42 free throws
  • Second-Best Player: 39 free throws
  • Third-Best Player: 36 free throws