Skip to main content

2023 AMC 10B Problem 21

Problem 21 of 25HarderAlgebraNumber TheoryProbability & Statistics

Each of 20232023 balls is randomly placed into one of 33 bins. Which of the following is closest to the probability that each of the bins will contain an odd number of balls?

Answer choices

Show solution

Solution

All 320233^{2023} assignments are equally likely. A sign filter counts the ones with every bin odd: 18∑s∈{±1}3(s1s2s3)\frac{1}{8}\sum_{s \in \{\pm 1\}^3}(s_1 s_2 s_3) ⋅(s1+s2+s3)2023.\cdot (s_1 + s_2 + s_3)^{2023}. For s=(1,1,1)s = (1,1,1) and s=(−1,−1,−1),s = (-1,-1,-1), both terms equal 32023.3^{2023}. For each other sign choice, the sum in parentheses is 11 or −1,-1, and the full term equals −1,-1, so these six terms total −6.-6. Thus the count is 2⋅32023−68=32023−34.\frac{2 \cdot 3^{2023} - 6}{8} = \frac{3^{2023} - 3}{4}. Dividing, the probability is 32023−34⋅32023=14−14⋅32022,\frac{3^{2023} - 3}{4 \cdot 3^{2023}} = \frac{1}{4} - \frac{1}{4 \cdot 3^{2022}}, a hair under 14.\frac{1}{4}. Thus, E is the correct answer.
AoPS wiki

Tagged: roots of unity · parity · basic probability

More practice