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The worst case arises when she takes 8 red and 4 green, and still doesn't have 3 distinct colors. So she draws (13th) next which will surely be the third color jellybean (blue) as no other colour jellybean is left in her pocket
Answer - D
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Grace has 16 jellybeans in her pocket. She has 8 red ones, 4 green ones, and 4 blue ones. What is the minimum number of jellybeans she must take out of her pocket to ensure that she has one of each color?

A. 4
B. 8
C. 12
D. 13
E. 16

The worst scenario is when she takes 8 red and 4 green, total of 12 jellybeans, and still doesn't have 3 distinct colors. But the next draw (13th) will surely be the third color jellybean (blue) as there is no other color jellybeans left in pocket.

Answer: D.

Shouldn't it be 9 actually...in case she picks G and B, then on 9th trial she can get a R.
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Grace has 16 jellybeans in her pocket. She has 8 red ones, 4 green ones, and 4 blue ones. What is the minimum number of jellybeans she must take out of her pocket to ensure that she has one of each color?

A. 4
B. 8
C. 12
D. 13
E. 16

The worst scenario is when she takes 8 red and 4 green, total of 12 jellybeans, and still doesn't have 3 distinct colors. But the next draw (13th) will surely be the third color jellybean (blue) as there is no other color jellybeans left in pocket.

Answer: D.

Shouldn't it be 9 actually...in case she picks G and B, then on 9th trial she can get a R.

For such cases when we should ensure, guarantee some outcome we always consider the worst case scenario. For 9 picks it's possible that Grace picks 8 R's and 1 G.

Check other Worst Case Scenario Questions from our Special Questions Directory to understand the concept better.
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MariaF
Grace has 16 jellybeans in her pocket. She has 8 red ones, 4 green ones, and 4 blue ones. What is the minimum number of jellybeans she must take out of her pocket to ensure that she has one of each color?

A. 4
B. 8
C. 12
D. 13
E. 16

13 (8+4+1) worst case
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Grace has 16 jellybeans in her pocket. She has 8 red ones, 4 green ones, and 4 blue ones. What is the minimum number of jellybeans she must take out of her pocket to ensure that she has one of each color?

We need to maximize the worst case possibiilty for questions such as this

Total jellybeans = 16
Red =8
Green = 4
Blue = 4

Worst case can be first 8 draws are Red and next 4 are Green, even after 12 draws not all colors are represented. But in the 13th draw, the color has to be Blue. So minimum number of draws required is 13

Ans : 13
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