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Recall the estimate by the Pew Research Center that 62% of U.S. adults favor the death penalty for murder. The same report gave a much lower estimate for the percentage of U.S. college graduates supporting the death penalty in cases of murder. According to census data from 2000, roughly 28% of U.S. adults have a college degree.

What is the probability that a randomly selected U.S. adult has a college degree and favors the death penalty?

Let A be the event that a U.S. adult has a college degree. Let B be the event that this person supports the death penalty. We want to find P(A and B).

Which answer is correct, Answer 1 or 2?

Answer 1: P(A and B) = P(A)*P(B) = 0.62(0.28) = 0.1736. We can use the Multiplication Rule for Independent Events because the events are independent. Having a college degree does not determine a person's views on the death penalty.
Answer 2: We do not have enough information to answer the question. We cannot use the Multiplication Rule fro Independent Events because these events are dependent. Having a college degree affects the likely hood that a person supports the death penalty.

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