Suppose you and a friend will be seated at a round table with three other people. (There are exactly five chairs at the table, equally spaced.) People will be seated at the table randomly. What is the probability that you and your friend will be seated together? Make sure to explain or show how you get your answer.

Holt Mcdougal Larson Pre-algebra: Student Edition 2012
1st Edition
ISBN:9780547587776
Author:HOLT MCDOUGAL
Publisher:HOLT MCDOUGAL
Chapter11: Data Analysis And Probability
Section11.8: Probabilities Of Disjoint And Overlapping Events
Problem 2C
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 Suppose you and a friend will be seated at a round table with three other people.
(There are exactly five chairs at the table, equally spaced.) People will be seated at
the table randomly. What is the probability that you and your friend will be seated
together? Make sure to explain or show how you get your answer.

Expert Solution
Step 1

Given data:

*Total number of persons sitting around a round table is n=5.

If persons are sitting around a round table, the number of ways in which the n persons can sit around the round table is n-1!

Thus, 

Here, there are 5 persons sitting around the round table randomly, the total number of ways in which the 5 persons can be seated around the round table is,

T=5-1!=4!=24

But, here it is said that two persons (me & my friend) are seated together, thus in this case treat this two persons as a single persons thus there are total of 4 persons, the number of ways in which the 4 persons can be seated around the round table is,

T(4)=4-1!=3!=6

But, the two persons treated as one person can be arranged in two ways.

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