pm wrote:If x is a randomly chosen integer between 1 and 20, inclusive, and y is a randomly chosen integer between 21 and 40, inclusive, what is the probability that xy is a multiple of 4?
(A) 1/4
(B) 1/3
(C) 3/8
(D) 7/16
(E) 1/2
We see that xy is a multiple of 4 if both x and y are multiples of 2 (but not multiples of 4), OR x is a multiple of 4, OR y is a multiple of 4, or . Let's look at the three cases.
Case 1: Both x and y are multiples of 2 but neither is a multiple of 4
Thus x could be 2, 6, 10, 14, or 18 and y could be 22, 26, 30, 34, or 38. We see that there are 5 choices for x and 5 choices for y; thus, the number of integers xy that are a multiple of 4 is 5 x 5 = 25.
Case 2: x is a multiple of 4
If x is a multiple of 4 (i.e., x could be 4, 8, 12, 16, or 20), then y could be any integer. Thus, the number of integers xy that are a multiple of 4 is 5 x 20 = 100.
Case 3: y is a multiple of 4
If y is a multiple of 4 (i.e., y could be 24, 28, 32, 36, or 40), then x could be any integer. Thus, the number of integers xy that are a multiple of 4 is 20 x 5 = 100.
However, there are overlaps in cases 2 and 3. For example, x = 4 and y = 24 is an overlap in both cases. We need to subtract the overlaps. The overlaps occur when both x and y are multiples of 4. Since there are 5 choices for x being a multiple of 4 and another 5 choices for y being a multiple of 4, the total number of overlaps is 5 x 5 = 25.
Thus, the total number of integers xy that are a multiple of 4 is 25 + 100 + 100 - 25 = 200. Since the total number of integers xy that can be formed is 20 x 20 = 400, the probability that the product xy is a multiple of 4 is 200/400 = 1/2.
Answer:
E 
