Math Problem Statement
Suppose that your boss must choose three employees in your office to attend a conference in Jamaica. Because all 17 of you want to go, he decides that the only fair way is to draw names out of a hat. What is the probability that you, Olivia, and Liam are chosen? Enter a fraction or round your answer to 4 decimal places, if necessary.
Solution
To find the probability that you, Olivia, and Liam are chosen from a group of 17 people, we can follow these steps:
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Total number of ways to choose 3 people from 17: This is calculated using combinations since the order in which people are chosen doesn't matter. The formula for combinations is:
where and . So, the total number of ways to choose 3 people from 17 is:
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Number of favorable outcomes: There's only 1 specific way to choose you, Olivia, and Liam from the group of 17, since we are fixing these 3 people.
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Probability calculation: The probability is the number of favorable outcomes divided by the total number of possible outcomes:
So, the probability that you, Olivia, and Liam are chosen is , or approximately 0.0015 when rounded to 4 decimal places.
Final Answer:
Would you like further details or have any questions?
Here are 5 related questions to expand on this concept:
- What if there were 20 people instead of 17? How would the probability change?
- How would the calculation change if 4 employees were chosen instead of 3?
- What is the probability of not being chosen in a random draw from this group?
- How does the formula for combinations work for larger groups, such as 100 employees?
- If Olivia and Liam are chosen but not you, what is the probability of this event?
Tip: In probability problems, always make sure to distinguish between combinations and permutations. Combinations ignore the order, while permutations consider it!
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Combinatorics
Probability
Formulas
Combination formula: C(n, r) = n! / [r!(n-r)!]
Probability formula: P = favorable outcomes / total outcomes
Theorems
Basic Probability Theorem
Combinatorics Theorem
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 9-12
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