The probabilities that a husband and wife will be alive in 15 years time are m and n respectively. Find the probability that only one of them will be alive ...

Assessment: WAEC SSCE - Further Mathematics - 2010 (Objective) Subject: Further Mathematics

Question 1 Report

The probabilities that a husband and wife will be alive in 15 years time are m and n respectively. Find the probability that only one of them will be alive at that time.

Answer Details
The probability that only one of the husband and wife will be alive in 15 years can happen in two ways: either the husband is alive and the wife is not, or the wife is alive and the husband is not. The probability of the first case is (m)(1-n) = m - mn, and the probability of the second case is (n)(1-m) = n - mn. Therefore, the total probability that only one of them will be alive is (m - mn) + (n - mn) = m + n - 2mn. Hence, the correct answer is: m + n - 2mn.

Download The App On Google Playstore

Everything you need to excel in your exams

Green Bridge CBT Mobile App
Personalized AI Learning Chat Assistant
200,000+ Exam Questions Across IGCSE, JAMB, WAEC & NECO
Over 3,900 Lesson Notes
Offline Support - Learn Anytime, Anywhere
Green Bridge Timetable
Literature Summaries & Potential Questions
Track Your Performance & Progress
In-depth Explanations for Comprehensive Learning