Question

Three freshmen, 3 sophomores, 3 juniors, and 3 seniors are participating on the debate team. The team's captain is randomly selected from any grade level. What is the probability that a freshman will NOT be selected as captain?
Responses
A




1 4
B




1 3
C




3 4
D




5 6

Answer 1

To find the probability that a freshman will NOT be selected as captain, we first need to determine the total number of students and the number of freshmen present.

In total, there are:
- 3 freshmen
- 3 sophomores
- 3 juniors
- 3 seniors

So, the total number of students is:

\[
3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12
\]

Now, if we want the probability that a freshman is NOT selected, we first need to find the number of students who are NOT freshmen, which includes the sophomores, juniors, and seniors:

\[
3 + 3 + 3 = 9
\]

Now, the probability that a student who is NOT a freshman is selected can be calculated as the ratio of the number of students who are NOT freshmen to the total number of students:

\[
\text{Probability (NOT freshman)} = \frac{\text{Number of NOT freshmen}}{\text{Total number of students}} = \frac{9}{12}
\]

This simplifies to:

\[
\frac{9}{12} = \frac{3}{4}
\]

Therefore, the probability that a freshman will NOT be selected as captain is

\[
\frac{3}{4}
\]

The correct response is:

**C 3/4**