Question

Each of $2023$ balls is placed in one of $3$ bins. Which of the following is closest to the probability that each of the bins will contain an odd number of balls?

$\dfrac{2}{3}$

$\dfrac{3}{10}$

$\dfrac{1}{2}$

$\dfrac{1}{3}$

$\dfrac{1}{4}$

Answer: E

Concepts:roots of unity parity basic probability

Difficulty rating: 1990

Solution:

Counting assignments where all three bins are odd with the parity filter gives $\scriptsize\frac{1}{8}\sum_{S\subseteq\{1,2,3\}}(-1)^{|S|}(3-2|S|)^n=\frac{3^n-3}{4}$ for odd $n.$ Dividing by the $3^n$ total assignments, the probability is $\dfrac{3^n-3}{4\cdot 3^n},$ which for $n=2023$ is extremely close to $\tfrac14.$

Thus, the correct answer is E.

2023 AMC 12B Problem 19

Answer: E

Difficulty rating: 1990

Solution:

Problem 19 in Other Years