Math Problem Statement
The Sad State Lottery requires you to select a sequence of four different numbers from 0 through 62. (Order is important.) You are a Winner if your sequence agrees with that in the drawing, and you are a Booby Prize Winner if your selection of numbers is correct, but in the wrong order. What is the probability of being a Winner? (Enter your probabilities as fractions.)
Solution
The problem asks for the probability of being a Winner in a lottery where you select a sequence of four different numbers from 0 through 62, and the order is important.
Total Possible Outcomes:
You are selecting 4 different numbers from 0 to 62, which gives you 63 total options (since 0 is included). Since the order of the numbers matters, we are dealing with a permutation.
The number of ways to choose and order 4 numbers from a set of 63 is calculated using the permutation formula:
where is the total number of choices (63), and is the number of selections (4).
Let's compute this:
So, there are 897,480 possible sequences of four different numbers.
Favorable Outcome:
There is exactly one correct sequence that matches the drawn numbers in the exact order. Therefore, the number of favorable outcomes is 1.
Probability of Being a Winner:
The probability of being a Winner is the ratio of favorable outcomes to total possible outcomes:
Thus, the probability of being a Winner is:
Let me know if you want further clarification or a more detailed explanation!
Related Questions:
- What is the probability of winning the Booby Prize?
- How would the probability change if you could select the same number more than once?
- What if the range of numbers increased to 100 instead of 62? How would that affect the probability?
- How many different ways are there to select the numbers without considering the order?
- What if only 3 numbers were drawn? How does this impact the total number of possible outcomes?
Tip:
Always pay attention to whether order matters in probability problems! If it does, permutations are the key. If not, combinations are used.
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Probability
Permutations
Formulas
Permutation formula: P(n, k) = n! / (n - k)!
Probability formula: P(Event) = Favorable outcomes / Total outcomes
Theorems
Permutation Theorem
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 9-12
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