Question
A scientist identifying cacti in a certain area of the Mojave Desert has found 74 prickly pears and 142 other cacti so far. What is the experimental probability that the next cactus identified will be a prickly pear?
Write your answer as a fraction or whole number.
P(prickly pear)=
Write your answer as a fraction or whole number.
P(prickly pear)=
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To find the experimental probability that the next cactus identified will be a prickly pear, you can use the formula for probability:
\[
P(\text{prickly pear}) = \frac{\text{Number of prickly pears}}{\text{Total number of cacti}}
\]
In this case:
- Number of prickly pears = 74
- Number of other cacti = 142
- Total number of cacti = 74 + 142 = 216
Now, substitute these values into the formula:
\[
P(\text{prickly pear}) = \frac{74}{216}
\]
To simplify this fraction, both the numerator and denominator can be divided by 2:
\[
P(\text{prickly pear}) = \frac{37}{108}
\]
Therefore, the experimental probability that the next cactus identified will be a prickly pear is:
\[
\boxed{\frac{37}{108}}
\]
\[
P(\text{prickly pear}) = \frac{\text{Number of prickly pears}}{\text{Total number of cacti}}
\]
In this case:
- Number of prickly pears = 74
- Number of other cacti = 142
- Total number of cacti = 74 + 142 = 216
Now, substitute these values into the formula:
\[
P(\text{prickly pear}) = \frac{74}{216}
\]
To simplify this fraction, both the numerator and denominator can be divided by 2:
\[
P(\text{prickly pear}) = \frac{37}{108}
\]
Therefore, the experimental probability that the next cactus identified will be a prickly pear is:
\[
\boxed{\frac{37}{108}}
\]