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2007 AMC 12A Problem 12

Problem 12 of 25IntermediateNumber TheoryCounting & Probability

Integers a,a, b,b, c,c, and d,d, not necessarily distinct, are chosen independently and at random from 00 to 2007,2007, inclusive. What is the probability that adbcad-bc is even?

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Solution

Exactly half of the integers from 00 to 20072007 are odd. A product adad is odd only when both factors are odd, with probability 1212=14,\tfrac12\cdot\tfrac12=\tfrac14, and even with probability 34.\tfrac34. The same holds for bc.bc. Then adbcad-bc is even when both products are odd or both are even: 1414+3434=1016=58.\tfrac14\cdot\tfrac14+\tfrac34\cdot\tfrac34=\tfrac{10}{16}=\tfrac58. Thus, the correct answer is E.

More practice

Concepts: parity · basic probability

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.