In a class of 325 juniors, 190 take Algebra 2 and 165 take Chemistry. There are 40 students who take neither. What is the probability that a student chosen randomly from the junior class takes Algebra 2 OR Chemistry?

Question 1 options:

71/65

14/65

57/65

63/65

1 answer

To find the probability that a student chosen randomly from the junior class takes Algebra 2 or Chemistry, we can use the principle of inclusion-exclusion.

Let:

  • \( A \) be the set of students taking Algebra 2.
  • \( C \) be the set of students taking Chemistry.

From the problem, we know:

  • Total number of students, \( N = 325 \)
  • Number of students taking Algebra 2, \( |A| = 190 \)
  • Number of students taking Chemistry, \( |C| = 165 \)
  • Number of students taking neither, which we denote as \( |N| = 40 \)

First, we need to determine the number of students taking either Algebra 2 or Chemistry. Since 40 students take neither, the number of students taking at least one of the two subjects is:

\[ |A \cup C| = N - |N| = 325 - 40 = 285 \]

Next, we can find the probability \( P(A \cup C) \) that a randomly chosen student takes either Algebra 2 or Chemistry:

\[ P(A \cup C) = \frac{|A \cup C|}{N} = \frac{285}{325} \]

Now, let's simplify \( \frac{285}{325} \):

The greatest common divisor of 285 and 325 is 5.

Dividing both the numerator and the denominator by 5:

\[ \frac{285 \div 5}{325 \div 5} = \frac{57}{65} \]

Thus, the probability that a randomly chosen student takes Algebra 2 or Chemistry is:

\[ \frac{57}{65} \]

The answer is \( \frac{57}{65} \).

So, the correct option is:

57/65