Question

Jimmy has the letters for the state of MISSISSIPPI written on cards, one letter per card. He turns the cards over and mixes up the order. If he selects one card at a time without replacing the cards, what is the probability that he will spell the word MISS in order?

Answer 1

Answer:

$\frac{1}{165}$

Explanation:

The probability that you choose letter M the first time is 1/11.

Then, given 1, the probability that you choose letter I the second time is 4/10

The probability that you choose letter S the third time is 4/9

The probability that you choose letter S the fourth time is 3/8.

So, the probability that you get the word MISS is :

$\frac{1}{11}*\frac{4}{10}*\frac{4}{9}*\frac{3}{8}$ = $\frac{1}{165}$