Problem page a box contains 2 plain pencils and 6 pens. a second box contains 5 color pencils and 3 crayons. one item from each box is chosen at random. what is the probability that a pen from the first box and a crayon from the second box are selected? write your answer as a fraction in simplest form.

1st box2 plain pencils...6 pens...total of 18 writing utensils
2nd box...5 color pencils3 crayons...total of 8 writing utensils

probability of picking a pen from 1st box is 6/18 reduces to 1/3
probability of picking a crayon from the 2nd box is 3/8

And since these are both independent events, the probability of both happening can be found by multiplying the independent probabilities.

1/3 * 3/8 = 3/24 which reduces to 1/8 <==

Think of it as five or above give it a shove. change the 5 or above to the right to a zero and add one to the number on the left.