Bunuel
What is the probability of rolling a total of 7 with a single roll of two fair six-sided dice, each with the distinct numbers 1 through 6 on each side?
(A) 1/12
(B) 1/6
(C) 2/7
(D) 1/3
(E) 1/2
Kudos for a correct solution.This can be easily done with the stars and bar method. See:
how-many-positive-integers-less-than-10-000-are-there-in-85291.html#p639156The question asks for a sum of 7 between two dice. Since each die has to have a minimum of 1, there will be 5 stars and 1 bar.
***|** can be arranged in \(\frac{6!}{5!}\)= 6 ways. There is a total of \(6^2\) outcomes, so the answer to this question is \(\frac{6}{6^2}\) = answer choice
BIf the question asked to find the probability of rolling a total of 8 with a single roll of two fair six-sided dice, each with the distinct numbers 1 through 6 on each side. Since each die has to have a minimum of 2, there will be 4 stars and 1 bar. **|** can be arranged in \(\frac{5!}{4!}\)= 5 ways. There is a total of \(6^2\) outcomes, so the answer to this question is \(\frac{5}{6^2}\)
If the question asked to find the probability of rolling a total of 15 with a single roll of three fair six-sided dice, each with the distinct numbers 1 through 6 on each side, by symmetry it is equivalent to the probability of rolling a total of 6 with a single roll of three fair six-sided dice. Since each die has to have a minimum of 1, there will be 3 stars and 2 bars.
*|**| can be arranged in \(\frac{5!}{2!3!}\)= 10 ways. There is a total of \(6^3\) outcomes, so the answer to this question is \(\frac{10}{6^3}\)
If the question asked to find the probability of rolling a total of 10 with a single roll of three fair six-sided dice, each with the distinct numbers 1 through 6 on each side, you have to be a little careful.
First arrange 7 stars and 2 bars, which can be arranged in \(9C2\) = 36 ways. But these 36 ways are including (1,1,8), which can be arranged in 3 ways and (1,2,7), which can be arranged in 6 ways. After subtracting 9 from 36, the answer to this question becomes \(\frac{27}{6^3}\)