Asked by Patrick

There are 4 aces and 4 kings in a standard deck of 52 cards. You pick one card at random. What is the probability of selecting an ace or a king? Explain your reasoning.

I am a bit confused on this one. Please help.
Answered by Reiny
You are interested in 8 cards from 52 cards, so .....
Answered by Patrick
Hello. I think I just figured this out.


The odds of picking an ace or a king is:

8/52 (since there are 4 aces and 4 kings in a single deck, 4+4=8_

8/52 can be simplified to 2/13

Answer=2/13
Answered by Reiny
Don't confuse "odds" with "probability", they are not the same thing

You are right, the prob(king or ace) = 2/13

the <b>odds</b> in favour of "a king or ace) = prob(ace or king) : prob(not ace or king)
= (2/13) : (11/13)
= 2 : 11
Answered by Patrick
Hello Reiny: I am confused on prob(not ace or king)

How do you actually go about figuring this out and can you explain this so I have a better understanding.
Thank you
Answered by Reiny
In general, if the prob(some event happening) = q
then the prob(of the event NOT happening) = 1 - q

then you use these in the definition of "odds"
There are no AI answers yet. The ability to request AI answers is coming soon!