Kiss those Math Headaches GOODBYE!

Posts tagged ‘catching fish’

Challenge Problem – the ANSWER


Hi everyone,

Here is the answer to yesterday’s challenge problem, the probability problem about catching fish.

First, there are 6 ways to catch the three fish in three casts, getting exactly one trout, one carp and one bass.

You could get the fish in any of these six orders:

TCB / TBC / CTB / CBT / BTC / BCT

Next you find the probability of getting one of these possibilities. Let’s take the first one, TCB.

Keep in mind that after you catch the first fish, the number of fish left goes down by one, to 11; after catching the second fish, the number of fish goes down to 10.

The probability for the TCB possibility is calculated by multiplying:  6/12 x 4/11 x 2/10 = 2/55

When you think about the five other ways to catch the fish, you’ll see that the order of the numerators changes, but the denominators remain 12, 11, 10. So the probability for catching the three fish in any of the six ways is always the same:  2/55.

To get the probability for all six catches, just multiply the probability of one catch by 6:

6/1 x 2/55  =  12/55

And that is the answer: the probability of catching exactly one trout, one carp and one bass is 12/55, which works out to about 21.8%, meaning that this should happen a little more than 1/5 of the time.

I didn’t see anyone submit any answers, but feel free to send them in. Remember that I will post only the correct answers, so no one has to worry about seeing an incorrect answer posted.

Have a great day!

—  Josh

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Category:

Algebra, Challenge Problem, Probability, Puzzles, Solving Equations, Uncategorized, Word Problems

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Interactive Challenge Problem — Send in responses


O.K., time to wake up the ol’ brain cells.

Here’s a little challenge problem. I’ll post the problem today, and then I’ll post the answer the next day. My thought is that this would be relevant for many kinds of people.

Teachers can use this as a fun class-opener. Homeschoolers can use it to start their math studies. And anyone who enjoys math can use it to sharpen math skills. So enjoy.

It would also be fun to see how many people get it right, so please send in your answers as comments. I will post only the correct answers.

The problem:

A lake contains exactly 12 fish: 6 trout, 4 carp, and 2 bass.
On any given cast, you catch exactly one fish, and no kind of fish is biting any more than any other kind. (i.e.:  Your odds of catching fish are governed by mathematical probability alone.)
What is the probability that in three casts you will catch exactly one trout, one carp and one bass?
To get credit, you must provide the correct answer and show how you solved the problem.

Category:

Algebra, Challenge Problem, Probability, Problem of the Month, Word Problems

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