
If I roll three dice and multiply the three resulting numbers together, what is the probability that the product will be odd?
|
SelectClick for Answer> |
The product can be odd only if all three factors are odd:

(Thanks, Nick.)
02/01/2021 UPDATE: From reader Paul-Georg Becker:
Another dice quickie:
I have a set of n dice, but unfortunately only one of them is fair. If I roll all dice and add the n resulting numbers together, what is the probability that the product will be odd?
Answer:
For natural n let Sn be the sum of the resulting numbers x1, …, xn. We assume that xn is the number shown by the fair die. Then we have
P(Sn even) = P(xn + Sn-1 even)
= P(Sn-1 even) P(xn even) + P(Sn-1 odd) P(xn odd)
= P(Sn-1 even) /2 + P(Sn-1 odd) / 2
= (P(Sn-1 even) + P(Sn-1 odd)) / 2 = 1/2
It does not even matter what the result for Sn-1 is.
(Thanks, Paul-Georg.)
|