A bag contains only 8 beads. The beads are identical in all respects except colour. 3 of the beads are black and the other 5 beads are white. A bead is taken at random from the bag and not replaced. A second bead is then taken at random from the bag. What

There are 8 beads in total; 3 out of 8 are black; 5 out of 8 are white.
When the first bead is taken, there is a 3/8 chance of the bead being black, since 3 out of the 8 beads are black.
Since the bead is not replaced when a black bead is taken there are now 2 black beads and 5 white beads: 7 beads in total.
When a second bead is taken, the chance the colour is black is 2/7, since there are 2 black beads and now 7 beads in total.
Since the question is asking us about the probability of choosing two black beads, the chance of choosing a black bead twice is therefore:
(3/8) * (2/7)= 6 / 56= 3 / 28

Answered by Adam C. Maths tutor

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