Question:

Out of two bags, bag I contains 3 red and 4 white balls and bag II contains 8 red and 6 white balls. A die is thrown. If it shows a number less than 3 then a ball is drawn at random from bag I, otherwise a ball is drawn at random from bag II. Find the probability that the ball drawn from one of the bags is a red ball.

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Draw a tree diagram to visualize the branching of choices for multi-stage probability problems.
Always check if the fractions can be simplified before adding to make calculations easier.
Updated On: Sep 10, 2026
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Solution and Explanation

Concept:

• Law of Total Probability: If \( E_1, E_2 \) are mutually exclusive events, then \( P(A) = P(E_1)P(A|E_1) + P(E_2)P(A|E_2) \).

Step 1:
Define the events and find probabilities of bag selection
Let \( E_1 \) be the event that Bag I is chosen (die shows \( \{1, 2\} \)). Let \( E_2 \) be the event that Bag II is chosen (die shows \( \{3, 4, 5, 6\} \)). \[ P(E_1) = \frac{2}{6} = \frac{1}{3} \] \[ P(E_2) = \frac{4}{6} = \frac{2}{3} \]

Step 2:
Find the conditional probabilities of drawing a red ball
Let \( A \) be the event that the ball drawn is red. Bag I has 3 red and 4 white balls (Total 7). \[ P(A|E_1) = \frac{3}{7} \] Bag II has 8 red and 6 white balls (Total 14). \[ P(A|E_2) = \frac{8}{14} = \frac{4}{7} \]

Step 3:
Calculate the total probability of drawing a red ball
Using the Total Probability Theorem:
\[ P(A) = P(E_1)P(A|E_1) + P(E_2)P(A|E_2) \] \[ P(A) = \left( \frac{1}{3} \right) \left( \frac{3}{7} \right) + \left( \frac{2}{3} \right) \left( \frac{4}{7} \right) \] \[ P(A) = \frac{3}{21} + \frac{8}{21} = \frac{11}{21} \]
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