To determine the probability of drawing an ace or a 9 from a standard deck of 52 playing cards, we need to follow a few simple steps.
First, let’s identify how many aces and 9s are in a deck. There are:
- 4 Aces (one for each suit: hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades)
- 4 Nines (likewise, one for each suit)
Now, we combine these counts:
- Number of Aces: 4
- Number of 9s: 4
Since there is no overlap between the two groups (you can’t draw a card that is both an ace and a 9 at the same time), we can simply add the number of favorable outcomes:
Number of favorable outcomes = Number of Aces + Number of 9s = 4 + 4 = 8
Next, we calculate the total number of possible outcomes. In a standard deck, there are 52 cards:
Total outcomes = 52
Now, we use the formula for probability:
Probability (P) = Number of favorable outcomes / Total outcomes
Substituting in our numbers:
P(Ace or 9) = 8 / 52
This fraction can be simplified:
P(Ace or 9) = 2 / 13
Thus, the probability of drawing an ace or a 9 from a well-shuffled deck of 52 cards is 2/13.