mathletes

[mdk]

[monstahunta]

The answer is choice B.

[Awson]

I like this.

[mbl]

monstahunta said
The answer is choice B.

Is it now?

[Esper]

The answer is clearly all of the answers.

[Halo]

Not sure, but isn't it a trick question? We have no way of knowing what the "correct" answer is. The probability of choosing a probability at random... maybe I just need to put more thought into it, but it seems a trick question.

[monstahunta]

Alright, let's break it down into an equation.

1 question has 4 choices.

Assuming that only one is right that would give you a 25% chance of being correct if you randomly chose an answer.

If 2 of the answers are the same, and are both the correct answer, then 2/4 of the choices are correct. So picking an answer at random would leave you with a 50% chance of correctly answering the question.

Simple.

[mdk]

monstahunta said
Alright, let's break it down into an equation.1 question has 4 choices.Assuming that only one is right that would give you a 25% chance of being correct if you randomly chose an answer.If 2 of the answers are the same, and are both the correct answer, then 2/4 of the choices are correct. So picking an answer at random would leave you with a 50% chance of correctly answering the question.Simple.

In that case, there's only one option that reads '50% chance.' You have only one chance of drawing it (out of four), thus, you have a 25% chance to answer correctly.

[Meth Quokka]

mdk said
In that case, there's only one option that reads '50% chance.' You have only one chance of drawing it (out of four), thus, you have a 25% chance to answer correctly.

Technically it's 33.3% not 50% (with elimination) because Choice A and D are exactly the same but that's by using eliminating reasoning not random selection. So the 50% is completely wrong. So you'd be left with best choice of 25% as it's closest under eliminative reasoning.

By random it's not 25% because although the content of itself has no bearing on your random selection, there's three possible results
- A = D, thus both A and D are correct - 50%
- B is correct then it's 25%
-C is correct so it's 25%

Average of the three gives us the magical 33.3% again.

[monstahunta]

mdk said
In that case, there's only one option that reads '50% chance.' You have only one chance of drawing it (out of four), thus, you have a 25% chance to answer correctly.

Uh, are you forgetting that you have 2 chances to choose the 25% chance option?

I sincerely doubt this question is as tricky as people think. =\

[K-97]

monstahunta said
Uh, are you forgetting that you have 2 chances to choose the 25% chance option?I sincerely doubt this question is as tricky as people think. =\

You're not thinking it through.

If you pick an option at random from four choices, it is a 25% chance you will randomly pick the right answer so 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer.....

I think you understand now.

[The Nexerus]

A) and D) are both correct.

[K-97]

The Nexerus said
A) and D) are both correct.

***Points at post with wall of text***

[monstahunta]

K-97 said
You're not thinking it through. If you pick an option at random from four choices, it is a 25% chance you will randomly pick the right answer so 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer. However since two answers out of the four are equal to 25%, the chance of picking the correct answer is 50% meaning 50% is the right answer. But since 50% only appears once amongst the four choices, it is in fact a 25% chance to get it right meaning 25% is the right answer.....I think you understand now.

So then if A, B, and D are technically correct, then the answer would be 75% by that logic.

[CidTheKid]

Nay. The question has no correct answers. Nor does it lead to any kind of contradiction, though it may seem like it. Lets work at it.

If you ask about picking something at random from a set, you need to know how many times it appears, and how many total elements are in the list. In other words, you need to know the proportion of that given something in a list.

So, we can evaluate the odds of picking a certain answer at random by dividing the amount of times it appears over the total amount of answers, and multiplying by 100 to get a percent value. If this value is indeed what the answer states, only then is the answer correct.

Lets write down an equation to describe this a little better.

(i/a) * 100 = x ; where x is the percentage given in the answer, i is the amount of times x appears in the list, and a is the total number of elements in the list.

If you plug in the numbers, and the result is some True mathematical statement, then that is indeed the correct answer.

So, if the question were the same, but the answers were:

A)50%
B)25%

Then the answer would safely be A, as it indeed is 50% of the list. (1/2 * 100 = 50% is True)

Now, if we look at the actual answers:

A)25%
B)50%
C)60%
D)25%

And then looked at how much of each question constitutes space in the list:

A)50% (A and D are equivalent, so we can say it appears twice and omit D.)
B)25%
C)25%

We find that none of the answers has a value equal to the proportion of which they show up in. Therefore, none of them are correct answers, and the Professor is a sneaky bastard for posing this question. Q.E.D.

[mbl]

monstahunta said
So then if A, B, D are technically correct, then the answer would be 75% by that logic.

This is a pretty popular paradoxical joke question, you can find it with many different forms online with changed probabilities. The best answer to it is 0%, but if that was an actual answer it would no longer work. Its not really something designed to have an answer.

[monstahunta]

mbl said
This is a pretty popular paradoxical joke question, you can find it with many different forms online with changed probabilities. The best answer to it is 0%, but if that was an actual answer it would no longer work. Its not really something designed to have an answer.

I wasn't seriously suggesting that the answer was 75%, sarcasm doesn't translate well over the internet, and a paradoxical question is no measure of a person's intelligence by any means.

[K-97]

monstahunta said
So then if A, B, D are technically correct, then the answer would be 75% by that logic.

Who wants to play next?

[Svenn]

look at dat chalkboard.

[mdk]

The only answer that makes sense is 0%, because it's consistent with its own odds of selection.