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counting and probability intermediate
Problem
Two cards are dealt at random from a standard deck of 52 cards. What is the probability that the first card is a and the second card is an ace?
Solution
We have two cases because if the first card is a , it could be an ace or not be an ace.
There is a chance that the ace of is drawn first, and a chance that the second card drawn is one of the three remaining aces, which gives a probability of chance that this occurs.
There is a chance that a other than the ace is drawn first, and a chance that an ace is drawn second, giving a chance that this occurs.
So the probability that one of these two cases happens is .
Notice that we can avoid some of the large denominators above by organizing this computation as follows:
There is a chance that the ace of is drawn first, and a chance that the second card drawn is one of the three remaining aces, which gives a probability of chance that this occurs.
There is a chance that a other than the ace is drawn first, and a chance that an ace is drawn second, giving a chance that this occurs.
So the probability that one of these two cases happens is .
Notice that we can avoid some of the large denominators above by organizing this computation as follows:
Final answer
\dfrac{1}{52}