Question

A bag contains 26 tiles, each marked with a different letter of the alphabet. What is the probability of being able to spell the word math with four randomly selected tiles that are taken from the bag all at the same time?

Answer 1

4/26 id assume

Answer 2

1/26 * 1/25* 1/24* 1/23 maybe?

Answer 3

maybe, the questionis an odd read

Answer 4

4/26 is incorrect

Answer 5

the answer is 1/ 14950...no idea how

Answer 6

cant see where they got that either

Answer 7

yea but i know its right >.<

Answer 8

what does "all at the same time" mean ?

Answer 9

26 group 4?

26P4
----- maybe?
4!

Answer 10

the tiles are grabbed at once in a handfull

Answer 11

hmm

Answer 12

hmm

Answer 13

how many ways to group 4 out of 26 is it then

Answer 14

26.25.24.23
----------- = 14950
4.3.2

Answer 15

so order of the tiles would matter then?

Answer 16

when order matters; use nPr

when grouping matters nCr

Answer 17

i cant rearange the tiles to spell math in my hand ?

Answer 18

nPr
--- = nCr
r!

Answer 19

you simply need an m,t,h,a as a group if you pick them all at once right?

Answer 20

would i have to pick up the tiles in the specific order, or could i rearange them in my hands?

Answer 21

as long as you got the m,a,t,h in your hands; you can spell math

Answer 22

k yes

Answer 23

so thenorder wouldnt matter and i would use combinations

Answer 24

math
mtah
mtha
etc .... are all valid picks

Answer 25

yep

Answer 26

according to the "correct" answer, thats how they solve it

Answer 27

okay so that 26P4 is invalid?

Answer 28

26P4 is fine for a start but needs adjusted.

26P4
----- = 26C4
4!

Answer 29

oh so simple

Answer 30

thx didnt see it

Answer 31

youre welcome; if I didnt see the answer, id a never got it either prolly. Its just an oddly worded question