Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 3.0 Junior Find the answer

Two different numbers are selected at random from {1,2,3,4,5}\{1, 2, 3, 4, 5\} and multiplied together. What is the probability that the product is even?

Pick one

Solution

The product will be even if at least one selected number is even, and odd if none are. Using complementary counting, the chance that both numbers are odd is (32)(52)=310\frac{\tbinom32}{\tbinom52}=\frac3{10}, so the answer is 10.31-0.3 which is (D) 0.7\boxed{\textbf{(D) }0.7}.
An alternate way to finish:
Since it is odd if none are even, the probability is 1(3524)=1310=0.7(D) 0.71-(\frac{3}{5} \cdot \frac{2}{4})=1-\frac{3}{10}=0.7 \Longrightarrow \boxed{\textbf{(D) }0.7}.
~Alternate solve by JH. L

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.