Carcass wrote:
A certain bank vault contains 600 safe deposit boxes. A thief possesses a sack containing 700 keys, only 300 of which correspond to the safe deposit boxes, with no duplicates. If the thief randomly selects a box and then a key, what is the probability that the thief will be able to open the box?
A. \(\frac{1}{1400}\)
B. \(\frac{1}{600}\)
C. \(\frac{1}{7}\)
D. \(\frac{1}{2}\)
E. \(\frac{6}{7}\)
KEY CONCEPT: In order to open the box, the thief must choose a key that will actually open a box
AND the thief must choose the box that matches the key.
We get: P(can open box) = P(selects a key that opens a box
AND selects the box that matches the key)
= P(selects a key that opens a box)
x P(selects the box that matches the key)
= 300/700
x 1/600
= 3/7
x 1/600
= 3/4200
= 1/1400
Answer: A
Cheers,
Brent