Math Problem Statement
A college library has five copies of a certain text on reserve. Two copies (1 and 2) are first printings, and the other three (3, 4, and 5) are second printings. A student examines these books in random order, stopping only when a second printing has been selected. One possible outcome is 5, and another is 213. (Enter your answers in set notation. Enter EMPTY or ∅ for the empty set.) (a) List the outcomes in .
Incorrect: Your answer is incorrect.
(b) Let A denote the event that exactly one book must be examined. What outcomes are in A? A =
Correct: Your answer is correct.
(c) Let B be the event that book 5 is the one selected. What outcomes are in B? B =
Incorrect: Your answer is incorrect.
(d) Let C be the event that book 1 is not examined. What outcomes are in C? C =
Correct: Your answer is correct.
Solution
Let's address the parts of the problem one by one.
Part (a)
Question: List the outcomes for the scenario where a student examines the books in random order and stops when a second printing has been selected.
- There are 2 first printings (books 1 and 2) and 3 second printings (books 3, 4, and 5).
- The student stops when a second printing is selected, so each outcome must end with either book 3, 4, or 5.
- The order of examination matters because the student randomly examines books, and stops after the first second printing.
Thus, the possible outcomes are as follows:
- The student examines one book and it's a second printing. These outcomes are: {3}, {4}, {5}.
- The student examines one or more first printings before selecting a second printing. These outcomes are: {13}, {14}, {15}, {23}, {24}, {25}, {213}, {214}, {215}.
So, the complete list of outcomes in set notation is:
Part (b)
Question: Let denote the event that exactly one book must be examined. What outcomes are in ?
- For exactly one book to be examined, the first book must be a second printing (since the student stops after selecting a second printing).
Thus, the outcomes in are:
Part (c)
Question: Let be the event that book 5 is the one selected. What outcomes are in ?
- Book 5 is selected, and the student stops as soon as they encounter book 5.
- This means that book 5 must be the last book in the sequence.
The outcomes where book 5 is the last book examined are:
Part (d)
Question: Let be the event that book 1 is not examined. What outcomes are in ?
- In this event, book 1 cannot appear in the sequence.
The outcomes that do not contain book 1 are:
Let me know if you want any more details or have any questions. Here are five related questions:
- What is the probability of selecting a first printing in the first round?
- How many different outcomes are possible if the student examines all five books?
- What is the likelihood of examining exactly two books before selecting a second printing?
- Can this scenario be modeled using a geometric distribution? If so, how?
- How would the outcomes change if there were more than two types of printings?
Tip: When working with random selection problems, clearly define your stopping condition to determine the valid outcomes.
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Math Problem Analysis
Mathematical Concepts
Combinatorics
Set Theory
Probability
Formulas
Set notation
Event probability
Theorems
Fundamental Principle of Counting
Probability of disjoint events
Suitable Grade Level
Grades 11-12
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