How many positive -digit
numbers begin with an odd digit or are divisible by ?
Solution
We start by determining the number of -digit numbers that begin with an odd
digit. There are choices for the
first digit and choices for each
of the remaining digits.
Therefore, there are -digit numbers that
begin with an odd digit.
Next, we determine the number of -digit numbers that are divisible by
. An integer is divisible by exactly when its final digit is or . Therefore, there are choices for the first digit since we
can’t use the digit , choices for the second and third
digits, and choices for the final
digit. Thus, there are -digit numbers that
are divisible by .
However, there is some overlap between these two sets. The number of
-digit numbers that begin with an
odd digit and are divisible by
are .
Therefore, the total number of positive -digit numbers that begin with an odd
digit or are divisible by is
.
How many -person committees
can be selected from six teachers and eight students if there must be at
least two students included?
Solution 1
The number of committees with no restrictions is
The number of committees with no students is .
The number of committees with one student is .
Therefore, the number of committees with at least two students is
.
Solution 2
The number of committees with
students is . Therefore, the number of committees with at least two
students is
If you put different
pairs of socks into a drawer and then randomly choose one sock at a
time, how many socks must you choose before you are guaranteed to have a
matching pair of socks?
Solution
You must choose socks. The
first socks you choose could all
be different. But the pigeonhole principle guarantees that with socks and types, there must be two socks of the
same type. Therefore, you are guaranteed a matching pair.
A die with the numbers ,
, , ,
and on its six faces is rolled.
If an odd number is rolled, then all odd numbers on the die are doubled.
If an even number is rolled, all even numbers on the die are halved. If
the given die changes in this way, what is the probability that a will be rolled on the second roll of
the die?
Solution
There are two possibilities for the first roll. It could be even or
odd.
Case 1: first roll is odd
The probability of an odd roll is
After doubling all the odd numbers, the faces on the die are , , , , , . Therefore, the probability of rolling
a with these faces is Thus, the
probability of rolling an odd number on the first roll and a on the second roll is .
Case 2: first roll is even
The probability of an even roll is
After halving all the even numbers, the faces on the die are , , , , , . Therefore, the probability of rolling
a with these faces is Thus, the probability of
rolling an even number on the first roll and a on the second roll is .
These cases have no overlap and so we can just add their
probabilities. Therefore, the probability of rolling a on the second roll is .
The integers , , , , , ,
are arranged at random to form a -digit number. What is the probability
that the number formed is less than ?
Solution:
The number formed is less than if one of two cases occurs:
(i) the first digit is or or (ii) the first digit is and the second digit is . The probability that the first digit
is or is . The probability that the
first digit is is . The probability that the
second digit is given that the
first digit is is . Therefore, the probability
that the first digit is and the
second digit is is .
These cases have no overlap and so we can just add their
probabilities. Therefore, the probability that the number formed is less
than is .
If fair coins are tossed,
what is the probability that at least two of them are heads?
Solution:
Since there are five coins and each coin has two options, there are
outcomes. It is easier to
count the number of outcomes that do not have at least two heads and
then subtract this from the total number of outcomes. These outcomes
will have no heads or exactly one head. There is only one outcome with
no head. There are five outcomes with exactly one head, as the head
could be any of the five coins. Therefore, the probability that at least
two of the coins are heads is .
Let , , , ,
be five distinct positive integers. Show that we can choose three of
these integers such that their sum is divisible by .
A permutation of a list of numbers is an ordered
arrangement of the numbers in that list. For example, , , , , ,
is a permutation of , , , , , . We can write this permutation as , , , , , , where , , , , , and .
Determine the average value of over all permutations , , , , , , of , , , , , , .
Three different numbers are chosen at random from the set . The numbers are
arranged in increasing order. What is the probability that the resulting
sequence is an arithmetic sequence?
How many positive integers less than have only odd digits?
Tanner has two identical dice. Each die has six faces which are
numbered , , , , , . When Tanner rolls the two dice, what
is the probability that the sum of the numbers on the top faces is a
prime number?
Blaise and Pierre will play games of squash. Since they are equally
skilled, each is equally likely to win any given game. (In squash, there
are no ties.) The probability that each of them will win of the games is . What is the probability
that Blaise will win more games than Pierre?
A bag contains balls,
each of which is black or gold. Feridun reaches into the bag and
randomly removes two balls. Each ball in the bag is equally likely to be
removed. If the probability that two gold balls are removed is , how many of the balls are gold?
An integer , with , is chosen at random.
What is the probability that the sum of the digits of is ?
Billy and Crystal each have a bag of balls. The balls in each bag are
numbered from to . Billy and Crystal each remove one ball
from their own bag. Let be the
sum of the numbers on the balls remaining in Billy’s bag. Let be the sum of the numbers on the balls
remaining in Crystal’s bag. Determine the probability that and differ by a multiple of .
Oi-Lam tosses three fair coins and removes all of the coins that
come up heads. Then she tosses the coins that remain, if any. Determine
the probability that she tosses exactly one head on the second
toss.
Two bags each contain
balls, labelled with the positive integers from to . Pierre removes one ball from each
bag. (In each bag, each ball is equally likely to be chosen.) Determine
the probability that the product of the numbers on the two balls that he
chooses is divisible by .
The string is a
string of ten letters, each of which is or , that does not include the consecutive
letters .
The string is a
string of ten letters, each of which is or , that does include the consecutive
letters .
Determine, with justification, the total number of strings of ten
letters, each of which is or
, that do not include the
consecutive letters .
For each positive integer ,
an Eden sequence from is defined to be a
sequence that satisfies the following conditions:
each of its terms is an element of the set of consecutive
integers ,
the sequence is increasing, and
the terms in odd numbered positions are odd and the terms in even
numbered positions are even.
For example, the four Eden sequences from are
Determine the number of Eden sequences from .
Suppose there are plates
equally spaced around a circular table. Ross wishes to place an
identical gift on each of plates,
so that no two neighbouring plates have gifts. Let represent the number of ways in
which he can place the gifts. For example , as shown below.
Determine the value of .
Prove that for all integers and .