Question

1. there are 5 textbooks of different subjects on the shelf. john randomly chooses 2 books to use for his homework. what is the probability that math will be chosen first and history will be chosen second? type your answer as a decimal

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate probability of choosing math first

There are 5 textbooks in total. The probability of choosing the math - book first is $\frac{1}{5}$ since there is 1 math - book out of 5.

Step2: Calculate probability of choosing history second

After choosing the math - book first, there are 4 textbooks left. The probability of choosing the history - book second is $\frac{1}{4}$ since there is 1 history - book out of the remaining 4.

Step3: Calculate the combined probability

The probability of both events happening is the product of their individual probabilities. So the probability that math is chosen first and history is chosen second is $\frac{1}{5}\times\frac{1}{4}=\frac{1}{20}$.

Answer:

0.05