Discussion

Class,

If you play California Super Lotto, you pick five numbers from 1 to 47 and one mega number from 1 to 27. If you buy one ticket ($1.00), what is the probability of winning the Jackpot? You must show your work.

5 numbers can be chosen from 47 numbers in C(47, 5) ways

= (47 * 46 * 45 * 44 * 43)/(5 * 4 * 3 * 2 * 1)

= 1533939 ways

One number can be chosen from 27 numbers in C(27, 1) ways = 27 ways

Therefore, there are 1533939 * 27 = 41416353 combinations to choose from

Since only one of these combinations will win the jackpot, the probability is 1/41416353

Probability of winning the jackpot = 2.4145 * 10^-8

Irfan,

Use Combination rule to find the probability.