Suppose you have 3 jars with the following contents. Jar 1 has 4 white balls and 1 black ball. Jar 2 has 2 white balls and 3 black balls. Jar 3 has 1 white ball and 3 black balls. One jar is to be selected and then 1 ball is to be drawn from the selected jar. The probabilities of selecting the first, second and third jars are 1/2, 1/3, and 1/6 respectively. Find the probability the ball was drawn from Jar 2, given that the ball is white.

Please explain as much as possible, don't just give me the answer; I am having a test soon and I really need to understand this. Thanks in advance!

Question

Suppose you have 3 jars with the following contents. Jar 1 has 4 white balls and 1 black ball. Jar 2 has 2 white balls and 3 black balls. Jar 3 has 1 white ball and 3 black balls. One jar is to be selected and then 1 ball is to be drawn from the selected jar. The probabilities of selecting the first, second and third jars are 1/2, 1/3, and 1/6 respectively. Find the probability the ball was drawn from Jar 2, given that the ball is white.

Please explain as much as possible, don't just give me the answer; I am having a test soon and I really need to understand this. Thanks in advance!

anonymous · Answer

I have This same question seriously. LOL

anonymous · Answer

The question is basically asking for the likelihood of you picking Jar 2 (which is 1/3) and the likelihood of choosing a white ball within that jar. Since there are 2 white balls out of five balls (2/5 because 2 white + 3 black = 5), find the probability of both those events happening. :-) Good luck on your test!