There are a few important points that we need to understand in such questions.
1. We generally count the total number of possible cases but in this question, we should not count the scenarios.
o One common mistake one can make here is to assume the distribution to be $1, $2, and so on. Understand there's no mention of whether we can go down to cents or not and hence this should be taken as continuous.
2. Also, in general, we take all the possible cases as denominators but in this question, we should not take it as it is mentioned
Quote:
If $1000 needs to be distributed between Andy and John in such a way that Andy receives at least as much as does John
So our denominator is the probability of Andy receiving at least as much as John.
• Now this probability can be found when we understand that the probability of Andy receiving 0 to 500 is the same as Andy receiving 500 to 1000.
o So we can easily say that in half of the scenarios Andy can receive equal or more than Andy
On the other hand, our numerator comes from
Quote:
Andy receives at least twice as much as does John
• The least possible scenario is when Andy receive atleast \(\frac{2000}{3}\) and John receives almost \(\frac{1000}{3}\).
o So Andy must receive in the top \(\frac{1}{3}\)rd portion.
o That is from \(\frac{2000}{3}\) to 1000
So the probability of that event is \(\frac{1}{3}\)
So the answer = \(\frac{\frac{1}{3}}{\frac{1}{2}\) = \(\frac{1}{2}\)