Thread: Word Problem Help

Hi. I am having difficulty with a word problem and hope someone can help. There has to be a simpler way than manually writing out each possibility.

"Kyle, Jim and Dan can't decide what sport they will play in school during recess the following day. On a slip of paper, each person writes a 1, 2, or 3 and puts the paper in a hat. The papers are then totaled. If the sum is 3, 4, or 5, all will play football. If the sum is 6 or 7, all will play basketball. If the sum is 8 or 9, all will play soccer. What sport will be played most often and why?"

Thanks in advance. I know that there are 27 different possibilities...

To help your understanding I suggest you write out the sample space i.e.

(1,1,1) (1,1,2) (1,1,3)
(1,2,1) (1,2,2) (1,2,3)
(1,3,1) (1,3,2) (1,3,3)
(2,1,1) (2,1,2) (2,1,3)

....


etc.

This is all 27 possibilities and sum each, then find the probability of each sum.

I understand your methodology and came up with 6 or "basketball." I would just think that there would be a simpler method of determining the answer.

Originally Posted by pickslides

To help your understanding I suggest you write out the sample space i.e.

(1,1,1) (1,1,2) (1,1,3)
(1,2,1) (1,2,2) (1,2,3)
(1,3,1) (1,3,2) (1,3,3)
(2,1,1) (2,1,2) (2,1,3)

....


etc.

This is all 27 possibilities and sum each, then find the probability of each sum.