There are 8 boys and 4 girls in a lift. What is the probability that the first person who steps out of the lift will be a boy?
Answer Details
The probability of an event happening is the number of ways it can happen divided by the total number of outcomes.
In this case, there are 8 boys and 4 girls in the lift. If the first person who steps out of the lift is a boy, it means that any one of the 8 boys can be the first person to step out of the lift. Therefore, the number of ways the event can happen is 8.
The total number of outcomes is the total number of people who can step out of the lift first. Since there are 12 people in the lift, any one of the 12 people can be the first person to step out of the lift. Therefore, the total number of outcomes is 12.
Therefore, the probability that the first person who steps out of the lift will be a boy is:
probability = number of ways the event can happen / total number of outcomes
probability = 8 / 12
probability = 2 / 3
Hence, the answer is: \(\frac{2}{3}\).