2019 AIME I Problems/Problem 2

Problem 2

Jenn randomly chooses a number $J$ from $1, 2, 3,\ldots, 19, 20$ . Bela then randomly chooses a number $B$ from $1, 2, 3,\ldots, 19, 20$ distinct from $J$ . The value of $B - J$ is at least $2$ with a probability that can be expressed in the form $\frac{m}{n}$ where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $m+n$ .

Solution

Realize that by symmetry, the desired probability is equal to the probability that $J - B$ is at most $-2$ , which is $\frac{1-P}{2}$ where $P$ is the probability that $B$ and $J$ differ by 1 (no zero, because the two numbers are distinct). There are $20 * 19 = 380$ total possible combinations of $B$ and $J$ , and $1 + 18 * 2 + 1 = 38$ ones that form $P$ , so $P = \frac{38}{380} = \frac{1}{10}$ . Therefore the answer is $\frac{9}{20} \rightarrow \boxed{029}$ .

Solution 2

This problem is basically asking how many ways there are to choose 2 distinct elements from a 20 element set such that no 2 elements are adjacent. Using the well-known formula $\dbinom{n-k+1}{k}$ , there are $\dbinom{20-2+1}{2} = \dbinom{19}{2} = 171$ ways. Dividing 171 by 380, our desired probability is $\frac{171}{380} = \frac{9}{20}$ . Thus, our answer is $9+20=29$ . -Fidgetboss_4000

2019 AIME I (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
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2019 AIME I Problems/Problem 2

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Problem 2

Solution

Solution 2

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