A box contains 5 blue balls, 3 red balls and 2 white balls. Two balls are selected from the box with replacement. Find the probability of obtaining two blue...

Answer Details

There are a total of 10 balls in the box, and we are selecting 2 balls at random with replacement, which means that after each ball is selected, it is returned to the box before the next ball is selected. The probability of selecting a blue ball on the first draw is 5/10 = 1/2. Since we are replacing the ball, the probability of selecting another blue ball on the second draw is also 1/2. Therefore, the probability of selecting two blue balls is (1/2) x (1/2) = 1/4. Similarly, the probability of selecting a red ball on the first draw is 3/10. Since we are replacing the ball, the probability of selecting another red ball on the second draw is also 3/10. Therefore, the probability of selecting two red balls is (3/10) x (3/10) = 9/100. Finally, to obtain the probability of obtaining two blue or two red balls, we add the probabilities of these two mutually exclusive events. Therefore, the probability of obtaining two blue or two red balls is 1/4 + 9/100 = 17/50. So the correct option is  17/50.