In a lottery, there are 5 prizes and 15 blanks. What is the probability of getting a prize ?

Answer

To find the probability of getting a prize in a lottery where there are 5 prizes and 15 blanks, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Identify the number of favorable outcomes
In this case, the favorable outcomes are the number of prizes available.
- **Number of prizes = 5**

### Step 2: Identify the total number of outcomes
The total outcomes consist of both prizes and blanks.
- **Number of blanks = 15**
- **Total outcomes = Number of prizes + Number of blanks = 5 + 15 = 20**

### Step 3: Calculate the probability
The probability \( P \) of an event is given by the formula:
\[ P(\text{getting a prize}) = \frac{\text{Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{Total number of outcomes}} \]
Substituting the values we found:
\[ P(\text{getting a prize}) = \frac{5}{20} \]

### Step 4: Simplify the fraction
To simplify \( \frac{5}{20} \):
\[ \frac{5}{20} = \frac{1}{4} \]

### Final Answer
The probability of getting a prize is \( \frac{1}{4} \).

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