To find the probability that both John and Ted will be on time, we first need to determine the probability that each of them will be on time.
-
John is late 20% of the time, which means he is on time 80% of the time. We can express this as: \[ P(\text{John on time}) = 1 - P(\text{John late}) = 1 - 0.20 = 0.80. \]
-
Ted is late 40% of the time, which means he is on time 60% of the time. We can express this as: \[ P(\text{Ted on time}) = 1 - P(\text{Ted late}) = 1 - 0.40 = 0.60. \]
Next, to find the probability that both John and Ted will be on time, we assume that their punctuality is independent, meaning the probability of one being on time does not affect the other. Therefore, we can find the combined probability by multiplying their individual probabilities of being on time:
\[ P(\text{Both on time}) = P(\text{John on time}) \times P(\text{Ted on time}) = 0.80 \times 0.60. \]
Now, we calculate that:
\[ P(\text{Both on time}) = 0.80 \times 0.60 = 0.48. \]
Thus, the probability that both John and Ted will be on time is:
\[ \boxed{0.48} \text{ or } 48%. \]