Word Problem Wednesday: You've Got a Friend in Me

It's Word Problem Wednesday and this week, it's all about FRIENDS! Like Woody and Buzz Lightyear! Friendship is a beautiful thing - you grow up together, you support each other and you encourage each other to be the best you can be. 

When's the last time you went to an arcade with a friend? Have your friend help you out with this problem! Then you can drop by an arcade and test your theoretical probability to the experimental one!

Question: An arcade game at the Pizza has a claw that drops into a pile of alien prizes. Inside the claw machine, the aliens worship The Claw, and hope to be "the chosen one." Outside, players try to aim the claw to grab one of the alien toys. If 1 out of 10 attempts to grab a toy is successful, then what is the probability that a player will successfully grab 2 toys in a row?

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Are you ready for the answer and solution? 

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Answer: 1 out of 100

Solution: Since 1 out of every 10 attempts to grab an alien toy is successful, the probability that a player will be successful on both the first and second try is 1 out of 10. To find the probability of two successes in a row, we multiply the probability of the first success by the probability of the second success: 1/10× 1/10 = 1/100, or 1 out of 100.

See you next week! If you're looking for some math fun before then, bring a friend with you to Mathnasium of Cave Creek!

Looking for some more math fun? Call us at Mathnasium of Cave Creek!