What is the probability that the next person will be assigned an aisle seat?

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1 Answer
Geoff K.
Apr 6, 2018

The probability is #8/20#, which is #2/5#, or #40%#.

Explanation:

A probability like this is a ratio of two counts: number of successful events, and the number of total events. It tells us what fraction/percentage of possible outcomes are successful ones (however we define "success").

The simple formula for questions like this is:

#"Probability" = "number of successful outcomes"/"number of possible outcomes"#

There are 8 aisle seats (8 successful outcomes) and 12 window seats, for a total of 20 seats (20 possible outcomes). Using the above formula, we get:

#"P"("aisle seat") = "number of aisle seats"/"number of total seats"#

#color(white)("P"("aisle seat")) = 8/20#

#color(white)("P"("aisle seat")) = 2/5" "= 40%#

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