STAT 511 Counting Handout

1. The population of a town is 20,000. If each resident has three initials, is it true
that at least two people have the same initials? Explain.

2. Bob has nine guests to his house, two of which are Jane and Mindy. If the guests
arrive in random order, what is the probability that:
Jane will not arrive right after Mindy?

Jane arrives before Mindy and at least 6 people arrive between them?

3. One of the elevators in the Math building starts with 6 people and stops at 8
floors. Assuming it is equally likely that a passenger gets off at any of these 8
floors, what is the probability that:
nobody gets off on the 7th or 8th floor?

at least two passengers get off on the same floor?

4. In how many different ways can 16 offices be painted if:

each office is paint with one of four different colors?

each of four different colors is used exactly 4 times?

5. Five different numbers are chosen at random from 0 to 99. What is the
probability that:
all five numbers selected are odd?

the number 84 is chosen?

Optional:
6. How many eight digit numbers are there without two identical numbers next to
each other?

7. A multiple choice test has 20 questions, each having five possible answers. Each
question has only one correct answer. If the questions are answered at random,
what is the probability of getting:
all of them right?

at least 18 right?

8. Suppose 14 married couples take part in a contest. Fourteen identical prizes are
given to 14 different individuals, with each person having an equal chance of
winning one of the prizes. What is the probability that:
one person in each couple wins a prize?

exactly 7 couples win all 14 prizes?

9. In a closet there are 8 pairs of shoes. Six shoes are selected at random. What is
the probability of getting:
no matching pairs?

only one pair of matching shoes?

two pairs of matching shoes?

three pairs of matching shoes?