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Bunuel
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True, 8 letters are available. But only 1 letter at a time can be chosen.

If the stem had said that Jake could randomly choose which of the 10 letters could go first, but that choosing N and Z would get him killed (we’re talking Klingons here), and then asked for the probability that Jake would survive selecting the first letter, then the answer would be 8/10.

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Bunuel
Jake remembers only the last three letters of his four-letter Klingon name. If he is sure that the first letter is neither "N" nor "Z", and assuming that there are only 10 letters in the Klingon alphabet, what is the probability that he will give the correct name when asked for it by the space attendant?

A. 8/100
B. 9/100
C. 1/8
D. 4/5
E. 9/10

probability = favorable/total

favorable = 1 [Because his name is uniquely identified with a certain string of four letters.]

Since the first letter is neither N nor Z and the number of letters in the Klingon alphabet is 10, there are 10 – 2 = 8 options for the first letter. Fortunately, he remembers the other three letters of his name.

total = 8

Therefore,

probability = 1/8

Answer: C

(Note: In the solution, we used the realistic assumption that he won’t attempt to lie to the space attendant.)
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