Ask Me Help Desk

Ask Me Help Desk (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forum.php)
-   Math & Sciences (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=402)
-   -   Lottery numbers with probability (https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/showthread.php?t=267602)

  • Oct 9, 2008, 06:57 AM
    kristenc812
    Lottery numbers with probability
    I'm having trouble with this math problem. I have the answer, but I don't know how to get to the answer.

    **In a New York State daily lottery game, a sequence of 5 digits (not necessarily different) in the range 0-9 are selected at random. Find the probability that all 5 are different.**

    The answer is .3024. What is the process to get that answer? I'm having trouble because I don't know how to calculate it so that the numbers are different. Thanks in advance! :)
  • Oct 9, 2008, 07:10 AM
    ISneezeFunny

    __ __ __ __ __

    five places.

    in the first spot, you have out of 10 numbers (0 - 9) to choose from.

    In the next spot, you now have 9 numbers to choose from, because the first one has taken one of the numbers.

    In the next spot, you now have 8 numbers to choose from...

    so on and so forth

    10 * 9 * 8 * 7 * 6 = 30240 possible combinations.
  • Oct 9, 2008, 07:15 AM
    kristenc812

    Thanks for the post, but I don't need to know how many combinations are possible, but I need to know what the probability is to choose 5 numbers, all of them different. Like I said in my original post, the correct answer is .3024 or 1/3 (13/43).
  • Oct 9, 2008, 07:17 AM
    ISneezeFunny

    ... I was throwing you a bone.

    we don't do your work for you, we help you along.

    I just gave you how many different combinations are available.

    So the next step would be to find out how many combinations TOTAL is available.

    10*10*10*10*10 = 100000

    now, 30240/100000 = ?
  • Oct 9, 2008, 07:33 AM
    kristenc812

    Ok, thanks.. and I guess my second post came across wrong. I didn't mean for you to solve it.. I apologize if that's how it came across! I tend to over-think things and just assumed that the process was more complicated than it really was. Anyway, thanks for the help! Very valuable to this ADD brain of mine. :)

  • All times are GMT -7. The time now is 09:36 AM.