Question

Find the probability that a non-leap year chosen at random has:
a) 52 Sundays
b) 53 Sundays

Answer 1

I say that the answers are:

a) P(52 Sundays in a non-leap year ) = 1 (becoz 52 Sundays are guaranteed)

Answer 2

you are supposed to say 1/7

Answer 3

b) P(53 Sundays in a non-leap year) = 1/7 (the one extra day can be a Sunday)

Answer 4

@satellite73
since 52 Sundays in a year are guaranteed so won't the probability be 100% i.e. 1 ??

Answer 5

by 52sundays they mean exactly 52, as in 52 but not 53

Answer 6

but this is a totally crap problem because there is no probability in it

Answer 7

it is like asking what is the probability tomorrow is tuesday. the question is ill posed and makes no sense.
tell your teacher that this problem is garbage, a year either contains 52 sundays or 53 and it is not determined by probability

Answer 8

well if it asked in an exam, one can't say it is a crap problem. one has to answer...

Answer 9

what it means is, if all the years were put on slips of paper and put in a hat, and you picked out one, what is the probability that that year contained 53 sundays. that question makes sense

Answer 10

what about the second one b) ??

Answer 11

anyway your answer is right, 1/7 for 53, 6/7 for 52

Answer 12

I am not sure about the a) part because every year has 52 Sundays...

Answer 13

this question has been asked of students before. you can probably google it and you will see that your answer is correct, and probably also find a discussion on why this problem is stupid

Answer 14

anyway, thanks for your help......

Answer 15

yes because you are supposed to be a mind reader and know that when they write 52 sundays, they mean exactly 52 sundays, at least that is my guess

Answer 16

when not so clever math teachers make up probability problems, there is lots of room for ambiguity and error. this is a very good example of that

Answer 17

well I googled it and some say probability is 1 (sure event)
others say it is 6/7

Answer 18

@satellite73
can't we look at a) as follows
P(52 Sundays in a non-leap year) = 1 - p(53 Sundays in a non-leap year) ??
if yes, then
P(52 Sundays) = 1 - 1/7 = 6/7