Question

a pair of dice is thrown. what is the probability that they show a total of 8? select an answer 7/9 5/36 1/6 1/18

Explanation:

Step1: Find total number of outcomes

Each die has 6 faces. When two dice are thrown, the total number of outcomes is $6\times6 = 36$ by the multiplication principle.

Step2: Find favorable outcomes

The pairs of numbers on the two - dice that sum to 8 are: (2,6), (3,5), (4,4), (5,3), (6,2). So there are 5 favorable outcomes.

Step3: Calculate probability

The probability $P$ of an event is given by the formula $P=\frac{\text{Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{Total number of outcomes}}$. So $P = \frac{5}{36}$.

Answer:

$\frac{5}{36}$