Quote:
Ann and Bob each randomly select an integer from the integers x to y, inclusive. What is the probability that the integer Ann selects is greater than the one Bob selects?(1) y - x = 9(2) y = -20 Let's understand what happens in a few scenarios:-
-> Let's assume x is 1, and y is 3, following are all the possible combinations:-
(1,2)
(1,3)
(1,1)
(2,2)
(3,3)
(2,1)
(3,1)
We can see that the probability will be same for both Ann and Bob for selecting a greater integer, since if one selects a smaller number, other will select a larger one, or the same number.
In this case, that probability is 1/3
-> Let's assume x is 1 and y is 2, following are all the possible combinations:-
(1,2)
(1,1)
(2,2)
(2,1)
In this case, the probability is 1/4.
So, we can see that, if we have even number of integers the probability will be (1/4), and for odd number of integers the probability will be (1/3).
Now, looking at the options:-
(1) y-x=9
-> From this we know that there are an even number of integers, so this is sufficient to answer the question.
(2) y = -20
-> From this we don't know what x is, and consequently, we don't know whether the total number of integers is even or odd. Hence, we can't answer using this alone.
Therefore, (A) is the answer.