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counting and probability intermediate
Problem
Real numbers , , and are chosen independently and at random from the interval for some positive integer . The probability that no two of , , and are within 1 unit of each other is greater than . What is the smallest possible value of ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Since are all reals located in , the number of choices for each one is continuous so we use geometric probability. WLOG(Without loss of generality), assume that . Then the set of points is a tetrahedron, or a triangular pyramid. The point distributes uniformly in this region. If this is not easy to understand, read Solution II. The altitude of the tetrahedron is and the base is an isosceles right triangle with a leg length . The volume is , as shown in the first figure in red. Now we will find the region with points satisfying , , . Since , we have , . The region of points satisfying the condition is shown in the second figure in black. It is a tetrahedron, too. The volume of this region is . So the probability is . Substituting with the values in the choices, we find that when , , when , . So . So the answer is .
Final answer
D