From a standard deck of 52 cards, what is the probability of drawing a card that is an Ace or a Spade?

From a standard deck of 52 cards, what is the probability of drawing a card that is an Ace or a Spade?

• A. 1/4
• B. 2/5
• C. 4/13
• D. 3/4

Answer: (C)

This is about counting when two groups overlap. For Ace or Spade, start with all aces (four cards) and all spades (thirteen cards). The Ace of Spades is in both groups, so it would be counted twice if you just added them. Subtract one to correct that double-count. That gives 4 + 13 − 1 = 16 distinct favorable cards. With 52 cards in the deck, the probability is 16/52, which reduces to 4/13. The other fractions don’t match this count of favorable cards.

This is about counting when two groups overlap. For Ace or Spade, start with all aces (four cards) and all spades (thirteen cards). The Ace of Spades is in both groups, so it would be counted twice if you just added them. Subtract one to correct that double-count. That gives 4 + 13 − 1 = 16 distinct favorable cards. With 52 cards in the deck, the probability is 16/52, which reduces to 4/13. The other fractions don’t match this count of favorable cards.