An insurance company received a box of 100 assorted pens. One of the insurance agents opened the box and randomly selected 20 pens. He noticed that 12 out of the 20 pens he selected had black ink. Based on this information, what is the probability that another agent will select a black pen from the box if there are 80 pens left and she is selecting only one pen? Reduce your answer to lowest terms.

A: 3/20
B: 3/25
C: 12/25
D: 3/5

Question

An insurance company received a box of 100 assorted pens.  One of the insurance agents opened the box and randomly selected 20 pens.  He noticed that 12 out of the 20 pens he selected had black ink.  Based on this information, what is the probability that another agent will select a black pen from the box if there are 80 pens left and she is selecting only one pen? Reduce your answer to lowest terms.

A: 3/20
B: 3/25
C: 12/25
D: 3/5

anonymous · Answer

@PaxPolaris

anonymous · Answer

@robtobey

paxpolaris · Answer

12/20

paxpolaris · Answer

reduce it and that's your answer

anonymous · Answer

I dont understand ? Whats the answer?

paxpolaris · Answer

when you picked the first 20 pens 12 were black ... so you assume the probability of finding a black pen is 12 out of 20. 

you assume the probability is the same for the other 80 pens since you have no other information. 

so just reduce the fraction 12/20 to lowest terms and that is your answer.