Multiple choice

A magician has five animals in his magic hat: 3 doves and 2 rabbits. If he pulls two animals out of the hat at random, what is the chance that he will have a matched pair?

  1. 40 %

  2. 50 %

  3. 30 %

  4. 25 %
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Total ways to choose 2 animals from 5 is 5C2 = 10. Ways to choose 2 doves is 3C2 = 3. Ways to choose 2 rabbits is 2C2 = 1. Total matched pairs = 3 + 1 = 4. Probability = 4/10 = 40%.

AI explanation

The total number of ways to pull 2 animals from 5 is given by the combination formula 5C2, which equals 10. The favorable ways to get a matched pair are picking 2 doves from 3 (3C2 = 3 ways) or picking 2 rabbits from 2 (2C2 = 1 way), giving a total of 4 favorable combinations. The probability is 4 divided by 10, which equals 0.4 or 40%.

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