Probability question

We throw a dice several times, say 10 times, what is the probability of getting certain number, say 6, come up at least once?

Can you explain the reasoning for the answer?

A die. 'Dice' is plural.

This is homework, isn't it?

The answer is: p = 1.0 - ((1/f)^r) where f is the number of faces on the die and r is the number of times you throw the die, and assuming the die is fair.

Sure. Just add up the probabilities of getting exactly one 6, exactly two 6s, and so on. But that's more awkward than it need be. Far easier is to calculate the probability of getting /no/ sixes, and subtract that amount from 1.

I think we have had this one before. Like it or not, dice is both singular and plural in British English.

Derek Holt.

Er, yes. Oops. Thanks.

You forced me to think it through all over again, of course.

Basically, we want 1 - (5/6)^10 in this case, so yes, it's 1 - (1 - 1/6)^10.

I thought English was British English, due to the fact that England is the base land? And in America, they speak American English, whereas here in Australia we speak Australian English, whereby we weed out all the words that make sense and replace them with other terms that non-Aussies don't understand.

I noticed that the letters in AMERICAN ENGLISH can be anagrammed into quite a few interesting phrases:

CHEERING ANIMALS IS HER MALIGNANCE ALARMING CHINESE IS IN CHARLEMAGNE HER MALIGNANCIES MANGLES NICE HAIR

I'm sure that there are several phrases that are more appropriate. Try finding one, plus others based on BRITISH ENGLISH and AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH.

Carl G.

ALARMING CHINESE is very much appropriate....

No. English is English. It's what we speak here in England. I'm not sure what British English is, but I do know I don't want any.

Base land? BASE LAND?!? I think you mean 'homeland'.

Really? I was under the impression that most Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese. Admittedly, my reference work is almost ten years old; it puts Spanish/Portuguese-speaking Americans at around 350,000,000 (not including those Usanians who speak Spanish), which certainly exceeds the populations of the USA and Canada put together (and remember that many US citizens speak (only?) Spanish, and a good few Canadians speak (only?) French).

<grin> Do Aussies understand them, though? If so, perhaps it's a genuinely new language - Australian. Perhaps you should call it 'Strine', though, since that's what the word 'Australian' sounds like when pronounced by an Aussie.

Well, it is one of many variants of a language called 'English', which is perhaps not very clearly defined, since it has many subvarieties, like Scottish, Yorkshire, Geordie, etc., but is nonetheless spoken by a sizeable number of people, and is therefore worthy of consideration when discussing variations in usage of words like 'die', 'dice'.

The 'newspeak' word that currently annoys me most is 'attendee'. You may justifiably ask what that has to do with anything.

Derek Holt.

It does. It also describes the language spoken by Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Manx, USAnian, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand ... people.

Or do you avoid travelling to Wales because you won't be able to understand the language?

I certainly do.

Well, no. In fact, I /have/ been to Wales on several occasions, and I was able to understand the Welsh people just fine. Of course, I put this down to their skill with English, rather than to mine with Welsh.