If the odds of success are 4 to 1, what is the probability of success?

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Multiple Choice

If the odds of success are 4 to 1, what is the probability of success?

Odds in favor tell you how many successful outcomes there are for each failure. If the odds are 4 to 1, that means 4 successes for every 1 failure. Add them up to get 5 equally likely outcomes, 4 of which are successes. So the probability of success is 4/5 = 0.8 (80%). The remaining 1/5 = 0.2 is the probability of failure. Other options would reflect different ratios: 0.20 would be 1 success to 4 failures, 0.50 would be equal chances, and 0.40 would be 2 successes for 3 failures.

Odds in favor tell you how many successful outcomes there are for each failure. If the odds are 4 to 1, that means 4 successes for every 1 failure. Add them up to get 5 equally likely outcomes, 4 of which are successes. So the probability of success is 4/5 = 0.8 (80%). The remaining 1/5 = 0.2 is the probability of failure. Other options would reflect different ratios: 0.20 would be 1 success to 4 failures, 0.50 would be equal chances, and 0.40 would be 2 successes for 3 failures.

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