Approximately 70% of the State of Pennsylvania Sits on a Shale

Short Answer

Approximately 70% of the state of Pennsylvania sits on a shale formation from which natural gas may be extracted. If a geological test is positive, it has an 80% accuracy rate in correctly identifying a productive drilling site (shale is under the ground). If there is no shale under the ground, geological testing is falsely positive with a probability of 20%. Suppose the result of the geological test comes back positive (the test says there is shale under the ground). It is most important for us to know the probability that there is indeed shale under the ground given a positive geological test result. Find this probability.