Math Problem Statement

Dice are the most commonly used probability tool in games today.  The number of sides on the dice and the number of dice used will help determine probability of an event with the use of dice.  Suppose two dice are needed for a war game. The dice are rolled together to produce an outcome. 

During a game, in order to move onto the next round of play, a player must roll a 7.   

1. What is the probability of rolling a 7 and moving onto the next round of play?  

2. What are the odds of rolling a 7 ?

Solution

To solve these probability and odds questions, we need to understand the outcomes of rolling two dice.

1. Probability of Rolling a 7

When two six-sided dice are rolled, each die has 6 faces, resulting in a total of 6×6=366 \times 6 = 36 possible outcomes. We need to determine how many of these outcomes sum to 7.

The pairs of numbers on two dice that add up to 7 are:

  • (1, 6)
  • (2, 5)
  • (3, 4)
  • (4, 3)
  • (5, 2)
  • (6, 1)

There are 6 pairs that add up to 7. Therefore, the probability PP of rolling a 7 is the number of favorable outcomes divided by the total number of possible outcomes.

P(rolling a 7)=Number of favorable outcomesTotal possible outcomes=636=16P(\text{rolling a 7}) = \frac{\text{Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{Total possible outcomes}} = \frac{6}{36} = \frac{1}{6}

So, the probability of rolling a 7 is 16\frac{1}{6}.

2. Odds of Rolling a 7

The odds of an event are typically expressed as the ratio of the number of ways the event can occur to the number of ways the event cannot occur.

From the probability calculation, we know:

  • There are 6 ways to roll a 7.
  • There are 36 total possible outcomes.
  • Therefore, there are 366=3036 - 6 = 30 ways to roll something other than a 7.

The odds OO of rolling a 7 are given by:

O(rolling a 7)=Number of favorable outcomesNumber of unfavorable outcomes=630=15O(\text{rolling a 7}) = \frac{\text{Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{Number of unfavorable outcomes}} = \frac{6}{30} = \frac{1}{5}

So, the odds of rolling a 7 are 1 to 5.

Summary:

  1. The probability of rolling a 7 is 16\frac{1}{6}.
  2. The odds of rolling a 7 are 1 to 5.

Would you like any further details or have any questions?

Here are 5 numbered questions you might want to ask next:

  1. What is the probability of rolling a sum of 8 with two dice?
  2. What are the odds of rolling a sum less than 5 with two dice?
  3. How do you calculate the expected value of a single die roll?
  4. What is the probability of rolling doubles with two dice?
  5. How do you calculate the probability of rolling an even number with a single die?

Tip: When dealing with dice, it's helpful to list all possible outcomes to understand the total number of favorable and unfavorable outcomes.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Probability
Dice
Combinatorics

Formulas

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Theorems

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Suitable Grade Level

Grades 7-9