It is given that there are ten coins:
• 3 nickels
,
• 2 quarters
,
• 3 dimes
,
• 2 pennies
It is required to find the probability that a nickel or a penny was selected.
Recall the formula for the probability of an event:
[tex]P=\frac{\text{ Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{ Total number of possible outcomes}}[/tex]
The total number of coins is 10. Hence, the number of possible outcomes is 10.
The number of nickels or pennies is 3+2=5. Hence, the number of favorable outcomes is 5.
Substitute these values into the probability formula:
[tex]P=\frac{5}{10}=\frac{1}{2}[/tex]
The answer is 1/2.
