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Problem-Solving and Data Analysis / Probability and conditional probability Difficulty: Easy

There are n nonfiction books and 12 fiction books on a bookshelf. If one of these books is selected at random, what is the probability of selecting a nonfiction book, in terms of n ?

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Explanation

Choice B is correct. Since there are n nonfiction and 12 fiction books on the bookshelf, $n plus 12$ represents the total number of books. If one of these books is selected at random, the probability of selecting a nonfiction book is equivalent to the number of nonfiction books divided by the total number of books. Therefore, the probability of selecting a nonfiction book, in terms of n, is $the fraction with numerator n, and denominator n plus 12, end fraction$ .

Choice A is incorrect. This expression represents the number of nonfiction books divided by the number of fiction books. Choice C is incorrect. This expression represents the number of fiction books divided by the number of nonfiction books. Choice D is incorrect. This expression represents the probability of selecting a fiction book.