A criminal is sentenced to death. The only way he can save his life is if he picks out a white coin from one of the two boxes present in front of him. The total number of white coins and black coin are equal and the coins are randomly distributed. It is not necessary for the boxes to have the same number of coins but should have at least one coin inside it. The criminal does not know the distribution of the coin and is blindfolded when he picks up the coin and can only pick up 1 coin after choosing a box. Find the probability that he saves his life by picking up a white coin.
Find the probability that the criminal lives
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probability
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0Other people have already answered correctly, but as an aside it's much more fun to find the probability that the criminal lives if the second coin he picks is white, because the first coin can gives some information and therefore a strategy. – 2017-02-23
2 Answers
1
The probability is $\frac12$. The fact that he has to choose a box before choosing a coin within that box is moot, since the expectation of number of coins within the each of the two boxes is identical.
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Equal chance for getting a white coin and black coin. Hence, probability is $\dfrac{1}{2}$