Hi All,
We're told that in a certain game, you perform three tasks. You flip a quarter, and success would be heads. You roll a single die, and success would be a six. You pick a card from a full playing-card deck, and success would be picking a spades card. We're told that if you perform EXACTLY ONE of these three tasks is successful, then you win the game (meaning that any other outcomes - re: 0, 2 or 3 successes would NOT be a "win"). We're asked for the probability of winning the game.
Since there are 2 outcomes with a coin, 1/2 of the outcomes are successes and 1/2 are not
Since there are 6 outcomes with rolling a die, 1/6 of the outcomes are successes and 5/6 are not
Since there are 52 outcomes with choosing a card (and 13 cards are spades), 1/4 of the outcomes are successes and 3/4 are not
There are 3 ways to 'win' the game:
1) Win the coin, Lose the die, Lose the card = (1/2)(5/6)(3/4) = 15/48
2) Lose the coin, Win the die, Lose the card = (1/2)(1/6)(3/4) = 3/48
3) Lose the coin, Lose the die, Win the card = (1/2)(5/6)(1/4) = 5/48
Total probability of winning the game = 15/48 + 3/48 + 5/48 = 23/48
Final Answer: [spoiler=]E[/spoiler]
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich