ENGR.
BESAVILLA’S NOTES
SET 5
Problem 57
A game of super-dominoes is played with pieces divided into three cells
instead of the usual two, containing all combinations from triple blank to triple
six, with no duplications. For example the set does not include both 1 2 3 and
3 2 1 since these are merely reversals of each other. (But, it does contain 1 3
2.) How many pieces are there in a set?
Ans: 196
Problem 58
Martian coins are 3-sided (heads, tails, and torsos), each side coming up
with equal probability. Three Martians decided to go odd-man-out to
determine who pays a dinner chech. (If two coins come up the same and one
different, the owner of the latter coin foots the bill). What is the expected
number of throws needed in order to determine a loser?
Ans: 1 ½
Problem 59
There are three families, each with two sons and two daughters. In how
many ways can all these young people be married?
Ans: 80
Problem 60
How many three digit telephone area codes are possible given that: (a) the
first digit must not be zero or one; (b) the second digit must be zero or one;
(c) the third digit must not be zero; (d) the third digit may be one only if the
second digit is zero.
Ans: 136
Problem 61
Six men decided to play Russian roulette with a six gun loaded with one
cartridge. They draw for position, and afterwards, the sixth man casually
suggests that instead of letting the chamber rotate in sequence, each man
spin the chamber before shooting. How would this improve his chances?
Ans: Enhanced by 0.10
Problem 62
A long shot poker player draws two cards to the five and six of diamonds and
the joker. What are his chances of coming up with a pat hand? (straight or
flush)
Ans: 0.168
Problem 63
In Puevigi, the game of craps is played with a referee calling the point by
adding together the six faces (three on each die) visible from his vantage
point. What is the probability of making 16 the hard way? (That is, by
throwing two eights.)
Ans: 0
Problem 64
Max and his wife Min each toss a pair of dice to determine where they will
spend their vacation. If either of Mins dice displays the same number of
spots as iether of Max’s, she wins and they go to Bermuda. Otherwise, they
go to Yellostone. What is the chance they’ll see “ Old Faithful” this year?
Ans: 0.514
28 March 2022
Problem 65
There are four volumes of an encyclpedia on a shelf, each volume containing
300 pages, (that is, numbered 1 to 600), but these have been placed n the
shelf in random order. A bookworm starts at the first page of Vol. 1 and eats
his way through to the last page of Vol. 4. What is the expected number of
pages (excluding covers) he has eaten through?
Ans: 500
Problem 66
Venusian batfish come in three sexes, which are indistinguishable (except by
Venusian batfish). Hwo many live specimens must our astronauts bring
home in order for the odds to favor the presence of a “mated triple” with its
promise of more little batfish to come?
Ans: 4
Problem 67
In a carnival game, 12 white balls and 3 black balls are put in an opaque
bottle, shaken up, and drawn out one at a time. Thee plaer gets 25 cents for
each white ball which emerges before the first black ball. If he pays one
dollar to play, how much can be he expect to win )or lose) on each game?
Ans: Loss of 25 cents/game
Problem 68
In a binary system there are only two positive integers containing no digit
more than once, namely 1 and 10. How many are there in base ten?
Ans: 9
Problem 69
What is the longest legal sequence of bids in a single contract bridge hand?
Ans: 316
Problem 70
In the final seconds of the game, your favorite N.B.A team is behind 117 to
118. Your center attemps a shot and is fouled for the 2nd time in the last 2
minutes as the buzzer sounds. Three to make two in the penalty situation.
Optimistic? Note: the center is only a 50% free-thrower. What are your
team’s overall chances of winning?
Ans: 69%
Problem 71
One of a pair of dice is loaded so that the chance of a 1 turning up si 1/5, the
other faces being equally likely. Its mate is loaded so that the chance of a 6
turning up is 1/5, the other faces being equally likely. How much does this
loading increase the probability of throwing a 7 with the two dice?
Ans: 1/750
Problem 72
If all 720 permuations of the digits 1 through 6 are aranged in numerical
order, what is the 417th term?
Ans: 432516