Hi

4 earrings: 2G, 2S

P(2S) =  

Answer by Edwin McCravy(20060)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
 

This problem was posted over a decade ago (2014) and solved by a nice lady tutor
back then whose screen name was ewatrrr(24785).  Notice she has solved it correctly.

She is thinking of your randomly choosing them one at a time.

The probability of your successfully choosing a silver earring the first time is
2 out of 4, or (2/4). 

If you are successful on the first choice, then there are 3 earrings left in the
box, the other silver one, and the 2 gold ones.
  
The probability is then 1 out of 3 (1/3) of drawing the other silver earring.

Therefore the desired probability is, as she so correctly gives,

.

Edwin
   

Answer by ikleyn(52803)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
 .





Sorry, I was wrong.





My solution was wrong.





I deleted it to keep the Internet clean.





Thanks for critics from other tutors.







 

Answer by greenestamps(13200)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
 


Tutor ikleyn has the same wrong answer to this problem as to the problem about the red and green balls.  If she would just look at her solutions and find the errors, she would not need to insist that all the other tutors who have responded to this and similar problems are wrong and she is right.


For this problem she labels the earrings as S1, S2, G1, and G2, then writes out a list of 6 possible combinations of 2 of the earrings: (S1,S2), (S1,G1), (S1,G2), (S2,S1), (S2,G1),AND (S2,G2).  Then, since 2 of those 6 combinations contain both silver hoop earrings, she says the probability that both earrings are silver is 2/6, or 1/3.


But her list of the 6 combinations is faulty.  (S1,S2) is the same combination as (S2,S1); and the combination (G1,G2) is missing from her list.


So of the 6 correct possible combinations, only one contains both silver hoop earrings.


And then the probability that both earrings are silver is 1/6.


 

Answer by mccravyedwin(408)   (Show Source): You can put this solution on YOUR website!
 
Ikleyn has apologized.  I accept her apology whole-heartedly.  I have no doubt
she is a good-hearted person.  We all get frustrated sometimes.  We can't help our
emotional feelings.  We all feel a little narcistic and feel like bullying at
times.  But the best way is always to keep our emotional feelings, as they say,
'in check!'.

There is no such thing as "thinking you ARE wrong".  There is only "thinking
that you WERE wrong". 

We always think we're right until we discover our error and somebody shows us
where our thinking is going astray. Then we are embarrassed. But that's what we
get for being humans!! 

BTW, who do you think might have posted that problem about the red and green
balls? I'll never tell! J

Edwin
  

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