What is the probability you will win a Powerball-like lottery if you buy 10 tickets. The lottery consists of d?
Question by Molly B: What is the probability you will win a Powerball-like lottery if you buy 10 tickets. The lottery consists of d?
What is the probability you will win a Powerball-like lottery if you buy 10 tickets. The lottery consists of drawing 5 balls from a set of balls numbered 1 to 40 and then drawing one ball from a set of balls numbered 1 to 20. Explain why some may refer to lotteries as a “stupid tax”.
Best answer:
Answer by David
there are
40C5 * 20C1 =
658008 * 20 =
13160160 possible combinations
you buy 10
10 / 13160160
1 / 1316016
.0000007598691809218125007598692
or
1 : 1316015 odds
if you buy 10 tickets
The population of Oklahoma City is about 1.3 million
it would be like randomly choosing 1 person from Oklahoma City, from the entire population of Oklahoma City
Combinations of 5 balls from 40 is 40C5 = 40!/(5!*35!)
For 1 from 20 it’s: 20C1 = 20
The overall combinations is their product: 40!/(5!*35!) * 20 of which only 1 is a winner.
Using a calculator this gives odds of 1 in 1.32*10^6
Buying ten tickets is 10 in 1.32*10^6 which is still pathetic and you may as well have not bothered.
First figure out the chance of winning with just 1 draw.
y = 1/40 * 1/39 * 1/38 * 1/37 * 1/36 * 1/20
y = 1 chance in 1 579 219 200 So if you buy 10 tickets it will be 10 over the number we just got or
y’ = 1 chance in 157 921 920
It is a stupid tax because the chances of anyone winning this thing are about 1 in 2 if half the population of the United States played this Power ball lottery. The lootery could pay out any percentage to those playing and still have enough to pay down some of the sponsor’s (read government’s) debt.
Whether you buy 1, 10 or 100 thickets your odds are zero, not a joke the odds are so small as to be less then zero. A jackpot winning ticket for a dollar is the best investment anyone could make.