Let the 4 letters be A, B, C and D.Tanya prepared 4 different letters to be sent to 4 different addresses. For each letter, she prepared an envelope with its correct address. If the 4 letters are to be put into the 4 envelopes at random, what is the probability that only 1 letter will be put into the envelope with its correct address?
(A) 1/24
(B) 1/8
(C) 1/4
(D) 1/3
(E) 3/8
Total ways to arrange the 4 letters = 4! = 24.
Let the correct ordering of the 4 letters be ABCD.
Write out the ways that ONLY A can be put in the correct position:
ACDB
ADBC
Total ways = 2.
Using the same reasoning, there will be 2 ways that ONLY B can be put in the correct position, 2 ways that ONLY C can be put in the correct position, and 2 ways that ONLY D can be put in the correct position.
Thus, the total number of ways to put EXACTLY 1 letter in the correct position = 2+2+2+2 = 8.
Thus:
P(exactly 1 letter is put in the correct position) = 8/24 = 1/3.
The correct answer is D.
