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counting and probability intermediate
Problem
Two fair, six-sided dice are rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the two numbers showing is less than 11?
Solution
We instead find the probability that the sum of the numbers showing is greater than or equal to 11. Since each die's face contains the numbers 1-6, there are only 3 pairs of rolls that result in a sum greater than or equal to 11: (5,6), (6,5) and (6,6). Since there are 6 possible results for the roll of each die, there are possible pairs of rolls, so the probability that the sum of the numbers showing is not less than 11 is . Using the idea of complementary probabilities, we know that the probability of an event happening is equal to 1 minus the probability of the event not happening, so the probability of the sum of the numbers showing being less than 11 is .
Final answer
\frac{11}{12}