Skip to main content
OlympiadHQ

Browse · MATH

Print

jmc

counting and probability intermediate

Problem

If two standard six-sided dice are tossed, what is the probability that a 5 is rolled on at least one of the two dice? Express your answer as a common fraction.
Solution
We will use the inclusion-exclusion principle for this problem. The probability of getting a 5 on the first roll is obviously , as it is on the second roll. So, the probability of getting a 5 on at least one of the rolls would appear to be . But this is not quite right. We have double counted the case of rolling a 5 twice. In that instance, we have included it in both the count for a 5 on the first roll and the second roll, when it only should have been included once overall. So, our answer is .
Final answer
\frac{11}{36}