1. A manufacturer produces metal bars measuring 15 cm using equipment that sometimes malfunctions, causing nicks at various locations on the surface of a bar. Most bars with a nick are defective and must be scrapped. However, if the nick occurs so that the bar can be shortened to 12 cm, the bar can still be sold at the shorter length. Assume that the nicks occur randomly at any location along the 15 cm bar. If a bar is nicked, what is the probability that it can be cut and sold as a 12 cm bar?