A basket has 9 fruits, 4 apples, 3 bananas, and 2 oranges. Four fruits are drawn without replacement. The probability that the first fruit is an apple, the second is a banana, the third is an orange, and the fourth is an apple again is ____.
Answer & Analysis
Analysis
Question Analysis
This question involves calculating the probability of four successive dependent events.
The main focus is on accurately determining the probabilities of each draw based on the changing composition of fruits in the basket and correctly using the multiplication rule for multiple dependent events to find the combined probability of the four events.
Key Concept Explanation
Dependent events imply that the result of each previous fruit draw affects the probabilities of the subsequent draws.
As a fruit is taken out, the total number of fruits and the number of fruits of each type in the basket change, which impacts the likelihood of drawing a particular type of fruit in the next draw.
Step-by-Step Solution
Calculate the probability of drawing an apple on the first draw:
There are 4 apples out of 9 total fruits, so .
After removing one apple, there are 8 fruits left, and 3 of them are bananas. So .
After removing an apple and a banana, there are 7 fruits left, and 2 of them are oranges. So .
After removing an apple, a banana, and an orange, there are 6 fruits left, and 3 apples are left. So
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