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Printjmc
counting and probability senior
Problem
Two cards are chosen at random from a standard 52-card deck. What is the probability that both cards are numbers (2 through 10) totaling to 12?
Solution
There are two cases that we have to consider.
Case 1: The first card is one of 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10.
There are 32 such cards, so this occurs with probability . For any of these cards, there are 4 cards left in the deck such that the cards sum to 12, so the probability of drawing one is . Thus, the probability that this case occurs is .
Case 2: The first card is a 6.
There are 4 of these, so this occurs with probability . Now we need to draw another 6. There are only 3 left in the deck, so the probability of drawing one is . Thus, the probability that this case occurs is .
Therefore the overall probability is
Case 1: The first card is one of 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10.
There are 32 such cards, so this occurs with probability . For any of these cards, there are 4 cards left in the deck such that the cards sum to 12, so the probability of drawing one is . Thus, the probability that this case occurs is .
Case 2: The first card is a 6.
There are 4 of these, so this occurs with probability . Now we need to draw another 6. There are only 3 left in the deck, so the probability of drawing one is . Thus, the probability that this case occurs is .
Therefore the overall probability is
Final answer
\frac{35}{663}