SOLUTION: There are 4 slots, each containing any of letters l, g, r, i. What are the odds that letters stored in these slots read the word girl

Algebra ->  Permutations -> SOLUTION: There are 4 slots, each containing any of letters l, g, r, i. What are the odds that letters stored in these slots read the word girl       Log On


   

Question 370362: There are 4 slots, each containing any of letters l, g, r, i.
What are the odds that letters stored in these slots read the word girl
Found 2 solutions by Fombitz, jsmallt9:
Answer by Fombitz(32388) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
There are 4! possible outcomes.
Only one of them is "girl".
P=1%2F4%21=1%2F24

Answer by jsmallt9(3758) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
(The answer provided by another tutor is not correct.)

The odds or the probability? They are not the same.
odds = (number of favorable outcomes)/(number of unfavorable outcomes)

probability = (number of favorable outcomes)/(number of all possible outcomes)
I will provide both answers.
The number of favorable outcomes is 1. There is only one way to spell "girl". The total number of all possible outcomes would be
4*4*4*4 (not 4! as given by the other tutor). 4*4*4*4 = 256

So the probability of spelling girl is:
1%2F%28256%29
And the odds of spelling "girl" is:
1%2F%284%2A4%2A4%2A4-1%29+=+1%2F%28256-1%29+=+1%2F255