Two cards are drawn without replacement from a standard deck of 52 cards. what is the probability that both cards are spades? are these events independent? a. 1/17: no, they are dependent events b. 1/16: yes, they are independent events c. 25/52: yes, they are independent events d. 3/52: no, they are dependent events

 
Choice A
1/17; no, they are dependent events



Explanation:

There are 13 spades and 52 cards total. So 13/52 = 1/4 is the probability of drawing one spade

If we do not replace the card we pull out, then the probability of another spade is 12/51 since there are 12 spades left out of 51 total. 

Multiply the fractions 1/4 and 12/51 to get
(1/4)*(12/51) = (1*12)/(4*51) = 12/204 = 1/17

The two events are not independent because the second event (pulling out a second spade) depends entirely on what happens in the first event (pulling out a first spade). The fact that the probability is altered indicates we have dependent events.

The first option would be correct if it were one half and not one