A total of 500married working couples were polled about their annual salaries , with the following information resulting:

Wife Husband
Less than
\(25,000
More than
\)25,000
Less than\(25,000212198
More than\)25,0003654

For instance, in 36of the couples, the wife earned more and the husband earned less than \(25,000. If one of the couples is randomly chosen, what is

(a) the probability that the husband earns less than \)25,000?

(b) the conditional probability that the wife earns more than \(25,000given that the husband earns more than this amount?

(c) the conditional probability that the wife earns more than \)25,000given that the husband earns less than this amount?

Short Answer

Expert verified

Using the definition of conditional probability,

a)50.4%

b)21.43%

c)14.52%

Step by step solution

01

Given Information (part a)

The probability that the husband earns less than $25,000?

02

Explanation (part a)

Considered events:

HW- a woman is a high earner (earns more than25,000$)\HM- a man is a high earner (earns more than25,000$)

LW- a woman is not a high earner.

LM- a man is not a high earner.

With|X|being the number of elements in eventX, the number of couples for each combination is

|HMHW|=54|HMLW|=198|LMHW|=36|LMLW|=212

Calculate, if a couple from 500above is randomly chosen,the probabilities.

a) P(HM) =?

b) P(HW/HM) =?

c) P(HW/LM) =?

Break eventHMinto only two disjoint eventsHMHWandHMLW

|HM|=|HMHW|+|HMLW||HM|=54+198=252

By the definition of probability on equally likely set of events.

P(HM)=252500=0.504

03

Final Answer (part a)

The probability that the husband earns less than $25,000is50.4%

04

Given Information (part b)

The conditional probability that the wife earns more than $25,000given that the husband earns more than this amount?

05

Explanation (part b)

Now starting with the definition of conditional probability, and substituting calculatedPHM

P(HWHM)=P(HWHM)P(HM)=|HWHM|500P(HM)=54500252500=31421.43%

06

Final Answer (part b)

The conditional probability that the wife earns more than $25,000given that the husband earns more than this amount is21.43%

07

Given Information (part c)

The conditional probability that the wife earns more than $25,000given that the husband earns less than this amount?

08

Step 8: Explanation (part c)

Since with this notationLM=HMc

|LM|=500252=248

Now starting with the definition of conditional probability, and substituting calculatedLM

P(HWLM)=P(HWLM)P(LM)=|HWLM|500|LM|500=3650024850014.52%

09

Final Answer (part c)

The conditional probability that the wife earns more than $25,000given that the husband earns less than this amount is

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