Probability of a specific outcome while taking balls out of a bag











up vote
0
down vote

favorite
1












You have a bag with 8 white and 4 red balls. You pick out 5 balls from the bag without replacement. What is the probability of getting 2 red and 3 white balls?



I've a doubt with a specific approach in solving this problem.



Method 1:



Since I don't care about the ordering of the specific outcome, I can find the probability as 8C3*4C2/12C5 = 14/33



Method 2:



Lets take a particular ordering of the desired outcome.
WRWRW
The probability of this outcome would be (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)
If you observe the numerator, it remains the same for any ordering of the red and white balls. Hence any ordering of 2 red and 3 white balls has equal probability of occurrence. Now total such orderings of 2 red and 3 white balls are 5!/(3!2!) = 10
Hence the final probability is (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)*10 = 14/33



Method 3:



Whenever I take out 5 balls, I can the following outcomes. I've listed the type of outcome, the total arrangements possible for every outcome, and total ways of getting x red and y white balls from that bag, i.e.



#. type of outcome ; possible arrangements ; no. of ways from the bag




  1. 0R5W ; 1 ; 8C5 = 56

  2. 1R4W ; 5 ; 8C4*4C1 = 280

  3. 2R3W ; 10 ; 8C3*4C2 = 336

  4. 3R2W ; 10 ; 8C2*4C3 = 112

  5. 4R1W ; 1 ; 8C1*4C4 = 8


Now, if I take the final probability as (No. of ways of #3) / (No. of ways for all #) that gives the correct answer i.e. 14/33.



BUT, for lets say, 4R1W, there are 8 ways to get 4R and 1W out of the bag, and for each of those ways, the 4R1W balls could be arranged in 5 ways. So total no. of outcomes where you have 4R1W balls should be 5*8 = 40. Which is basically 8C1*4C4*5!/(4!1!)



So should the probability be the ratio of product of 2nd and 3rd columns, and not just the 3rd column? Why is this incorrect?










share|cite|improve this question






















  • Are we assuming that all white balls are different and all red balls are different ( like for examples all balls are differently numbered)? If that's the case then I can see why my method 3 would be wrong.
    – qwerty_uiop
    17 hours ago










  • Yes, we are. That is indicated by the fact that we discern $binom{12}5$ different outcomes.
    – drhab
    17 hours ago















up vote
0
down vote

favorite
1












You have a bag with 8 white and 4 red balls. You pick out 5 balls from the bag without replacement. What is the probability of getting 2 red and 3 white balls?



I've a doubt with a specific approach in solving this problem.



Method 1:



Since I don't care about the ordering of the specific outcome, I can find the probability as 8C3*4C2/12C5 = 14/33



Method 2:



Lets take a particular ordering of the desired outcome.
WRWRW
The probability of this outcome would be (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)
If you observe the numerator, it remains the same for any ordering of the red and white balls. Hence any ordering of 2 red and 3 white balls has equal probability of occurrence. Now total such orderings of 2 red and 3 white balls are 5!/(3!2!) = 10
Hence the final probability is (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)*10 = 14/33



Method 3:



Whenever I take out 5 balls, I can the following outcomes. I've listed the type of outcome, the total arrangements possible for every outcome, and total ways of getting x red and y white balls from that bag, i.e.



#. type of outcome ; possible arrangements ; no. of ways from the bag




  1. 0R5W ; 1 ; 8C5 = 56

  2. 1R4W ; 5 ; 8C4*4C1 = 280

  3. 2R3W ; 10 ; 8C3*4C2 = 336

  4. 3R2W ; 10 ; 8C2*4C3 = 112

  5. 4R1W ; 1 ; 8C1*4C4 = 8


Now, if I take the final probability as (No. of ways of #3) / (No. of ways for all #) that gives the correct answer i.e. 14/33.



BUT, for lets say, 4R1W, there are 8 ways to get 4R and 1W out of the bag, and for each of those ways, the 4R1W balls could be arranged in 5 ways. So total no. of outcomes where you have 4R1W balls should be 5*8 = 40. Which is basically 8C1*4C4*5!/(4!1!)



So should the probability be the ratio of product of 2nd and 3rd columns, and not just the 3rd column? Why is this incorrect?










share|cite|improve this question






















  • Are we assuming that all white balls are different and all red balls are different ( like for examples all balls are differently numbered)? If that's the case then I can see why my method 3 would be wrong.
    – qwerty_uiop
    17 hours ago










  • Yes, we are. That is indicated by the fact that we discern $binom{12}5$ different outcomes.
    – drhab
    17 hours ago













up vote
0
down vote

favorite
1









up vote
0
down vote

favorite
1






1





You have a bag with 8 white and 4 red balls. You pick out 5 balls from the bag without replacement. What is the probability of getting 2 red and 3 white balls?



I've a doubt with a specific approach in solving this problem.



Method 1:



Since I don't care about the ordering of the specific outcome, I can find the probability as 8C3*4C2/12C5 = 14/33



Method 2:



Lets take a particular ordering of the desired outcome.
WRWRW
The probability of this outcome would be (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)
If you observe the numerator, it remains the same for any ordering of the red and white balls. Hence any ordering of 2 red and 3 white balls has equal probability of occurrence. Now total such orderings of 2 red and 3 white balls are 5!/(3!2!) = 10
Hence the final probability is (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)*10 = 14/33



Method 3:



Whenever I take out 5 balls, I can the following outcomes. I've listed the type of outcome, the total arrangements possible for every outcome, and total ways of getting x red and y white balls from that bag, i.e.



#. type of outcome ; possible arrangements ; no. of ways from the bag




  1. 0R5W ; 1 ; 8C5 = 56

  2. 1R4W ; 5 ; 8C4*4C1 = 280

  3. 2R3W ; 10 ; 8C3*4C2 = 336

  4. 3R2W ; 10 ; 8C2*4C3 = 112

  5. 4R1W ; 1 ; 8C1*4C4 = 8


Now, if I take the final probability as (No. of ways of #3) / (No. of ways for all #) that gives the correct answer i.e. 14/33.



BUT, for lets say, 4R1W, there are 8 ways to get 4R and 1W out of the bag, and for each of those ways, the 4R1W balls could be arranged in 5 ways. So total no. of outcomes where you have 4R1W balls should be 5*8 = 40. Which is basically 8C1*4C4*5!/(4!1!)



So should the probability be the ratio of product of 2nd and 3rd columns, and not just the 3rd column? Why is this incorrect?










share|cite|improve this question













You have a bag with 8 white and 4 red balls. You pick out 5 balls from the bag without replacement. What is the probability of getting 2 red and 3 white balls?



I've a doubt with a specific approach in solving this problem.



Method 1:



Since I don't care about the ordering of the specific outcome, I can find the probability as 8C3*4C2/12C5 = 14/33



Method 2:



Lets take a particular ordering of the desired outcome.
WRWRW
The probability of this outcome would be (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)
If you observe the numerator, it remains the same for any ordering of the red and white balls. Hence any ordering of 2 red and 3 white balls has equal probability of occurrence. Now total such orderings of 2 red and 3 white balls are 5!/(3!2!) = 10
Hence the final probability is (8*4*7*3*6)/(12*11*10*9*8)*10 = 14/33



Method 3:



Whenever I take out 5 balls, I can the following outcomes. I've listed the type of outcome, the total arrangements possible for every outcome, and total ways of getting x red and y white balls from that bag, i.e.



#. type of outcome ; possible arrangements ; no. of ways from the bag




  1. 0R5W ; 1 ; 8C5 = 56

  2. 1R4W ; 5 ; 8C4*4C1 = 280

  3. 2R3W ; 10 ; 8C3*4C2 = 336

  4. 3R2W ; 10 ; 8C2*4C3 = 112

  5. 4R1W ; 1 ; 8C1*4C4 = 8


Now, if I take the final probability as (No. of ways of #3) / (No. of ways for all #) that gives the correct answer i.e. 14/33.



BUT, for lets say, 4R1W, there are 8 ways to get 4R and 1W out of the bag, and for each of those ways, the 4R1W balls could be arranged in 5 ways. So total no. of outcomes where you have 4R1W balls should be 5*8 = 40. Which is basically 8C1*4C4*5!/(4!1!)



So should the probability be the ratio of product of 2nd and 3rd columns, and not just the 3rd column? Why is this incorrect?







probability






share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question











share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question










asked 18 hours ago









qwerty_uiop

412




412












  • Are we assuming that all white balls are different and all red balls are different ( like for examples all balls are differently numbered)? If that's the case then I can see why my method 3 would be wrong.
    – qwerty_uiop
    17 hours ago










  • Yes, we are. That is indicated by the fact that we discern $binom{12}5$ different outcomes.
    – drhab
    17 hours ago


















  • Are we assuming that all white balls are different and all red balls are different ( like for examples all balls are differently numbered)? If that's the case then I can see why my method 3 would be wrong.
    – qwerty_uiop
    17 hours ago










  • Yes, we are. That is indicated by the fact that we discern $binom{12}5$ different outcomes.
    – drhab
    17 hours ago
















Are we assuming that all white balls are different and all red balls are different ( like for examples all balls are differently numbered)? If that's the case then I can see why my method 3 would be wrong.
– qwerty_uiop
17 hours ago




Are we assuming that all white balls are different and all red balls are different ( like for examples all balls are differently numbered)? If that's the case then I can see why my method 3 would be wrong.
– qwerty_uiop
17 hours ago












Yes, we are. That is indicated by the fact that we discern $binom{12}5$ different outcomes.
– drhab
17 hours ago




Yes, we are. That is indicated by the fact that we discern $binom{12}5$ different outcomes.
– drhab
17 hours ago















active

oldest

votes











Your Answer





StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
});
});
}, "mathjax-editing");

StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "69"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});

function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
convertImagesToLinks: true,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: 10,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});


}
});














 

draft saved


draft discarded


















StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3004750%2fprobability-of-a-specific-outcome-while-taking-balls-out-of-a-bag%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown






























active

oldest

votes













active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes
















 

draft saved


draft discarded



















































 


draft saved


draft discarded














StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3004750%2fprobability-of-a-specific-outcome-while-taking-balls-out-of-a-bag%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);

Post as a guest















Required, but never shown





















































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown

































Required, but never shown














Required, but never shown












Required, but never shown







Required, but never shown







Popular posts from this blog

Can a sorcerer learn a 5th-level spell early by creating spell slots using the Font of Magic feature?

ts Property 'filter' does not exist on type '{}'

mat-slide-toggle shouldn't change it's state when I click cancel in confirmation window