Skip to main content
OlympiadHQ

Browse · MATH

Print

jmc

counting and probability senior

Problem

A turn consists of rolling a standard die and tossing a fair coin. The game is won when the die shows a 1 or a 6 and the coin shows heads. What is the probability the game will be won before the fourth turn? Express your answer as a common fraction.
Solution
The probability of rolling 1 or 6 is , and the probability of flipping heads is . Therefore, the probability that the game will end on the first turn is . The probability that the game will not end on the first turn is . Given that the game is still going after 1 turn, the probability that the game will not end on the second turn is also . Therefore, the probability that the game does not end by the end of the second turn is . Similarly, the probability that the game is still going after 3 turns is . So the probability that the game is over by the end of the third turn is .
Final answer
\dfrac{91}{216}