A big flower vase has 5 begonias, 6 carnations, and 7 tulips. Two flowers are randomly selected (without replacement). What is the probability of selecting two tulips? (Express all answer in the simplest form of a fraction.)

Answer 1

The total number of flowers in the vase is 5 + 6 + 7 = 18.

The probability of selecting a tulip as the first flower is 7/18.

Since one tulip has already been selected, there are now 6 tulips left out of 17 total flowers.

The probability of selecting a tulip as the second flower, given that a tulip was already selected, is 6/17.

Therefore, the probability of selecting two tulips is (7/18) * (6/17) = 42/306 = 7/51.

So, the probability of selecting two tulips is 7/51.