Question

HARVEY HAS KEPT A RECORD OF ALL THE FISH HE CAUGHT IN WILLOW GROVE LAKE. HE HAS CAUGHT, 126 BASS 42 CATFISH 72 BLUE GILL WHAT IS THE EMPIRICAL PROBABILITY THAT THE NEXT FISH HE CATCHES WILL BE A CATFISH?

Answer 1

Given that Harvey caught:

• 126 bass.

,

• 42 catfish.

,

• 72 blue gill

You need to remember that, by definition, an Empirical Probability can be calculated by dividing the number of times the event occurs by the total number of trials.

In this case, you know that he caught 42 catfish. Therefore, you can identify that:

$Number\text{ }of\text{ }times\text{ }the\text{ }event\text{ }occurs=42$

You can also determine that:

$Total\text{ }number\text{ }of\text{ }trials=126+42+72=240$

Therefore, you can determine that the Empirical Probability that the next fish Harvey catches will be a catfish is:

$P(E)=\frac{42}{240}=\frac{7}{40}=0.175$

Hence, the answer is:

$P(E)=0.175$