Let's work through the solution to determine the state numbers for each student.

Part (a): Which two state numbers does the first student get?

The teacher has a random number table, and the states are numbered from 01 to 50 in alphabetical order. Each student gets two state numbers, so we need to extract two random digits from the provided table.

The random number table is:
19951 34513 15740 40148 19951 34513 15740 40148.

To determine the first two state numbers, we:

1. Look at the first set of digits: 19951. Since the states are numbered from 01 to 50, we’ll only consider numbers between 01 and 50.
   • 19951 contains "19" (a valid number for a state), so the first state number for the first student is 19.
   • For the second state, we take the next set of digits: 34513.
     • 34 (a valid state number) gives the second state number as 34.

Answer to (a): The first student gets states 19 and 34.

Part (b): Which two state numbers go to the second student?

Now we repeat the process for the second student, taking the next available set of digits from the random number table.

1. The first set of digits for the second student is 15740. From this, the first valid state number is:
   • 15 (a valid state number), so the first state for the second student is 15.
2. The next set of digits is 40148. Here, we extract:
   • 40 (a valid state number), so the second state for the second student is 40.

Answer to (b): The second student gets states 15 and 40.

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Summary of answers:

• (a) The first student gets states 19 and 34.
• (b) The second student gets states 15 and 40.

Would you like further explanations or have any questions about this? Here are some related questions for practice:

1. How would you handle a situation where a random number is greater than 50?
2. What would happen if the random number table didn't generate a valid state number on the first try?
3. How can random number tables be used for other classroom activities?
4. Why do we only use the first two digits of each number in this problem?
5. What are some real-world applications of random number tables?

Tip: When working with random numbers for such tasks, always ensure that the numbers fall within the valid range (in this case, between 01 and 50 for states). If a number exceeds that range, you need to skip or adjust the number.