Question:medium

In a certain lottery, \(10,000\) tickets are sold and ten equal prizes are awarded. What is the probability of not getting a prize if you buy(a) one ticket (b) two tickets (c) Ten tickets?

Updated On: Jan 23, 2026
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Solution and Explanation

Given:

Total number of tickets = 10,000
Number of prizes = 10
Number of winning tickets = 10
Number of non-winning tickets = 9,990


(a) Probability of not getting a prize if one ticket is bought

Probability =

Number of non-winning tickets / Total tickets

= 9990 / 10000

= 999 / 1000


(b) Probability of not getting a prize if two tickets are bought

Probability that both tickets are non-winning =

(9990 / 10000) × (9989 / 9999)

= (9990 × 9989) / (10000 × 9999)


(c) Probability of not getting a prize if ten tickets are bought

Probability that all ten tickets are non-winning =

(9990 / 10000) × (9989 / 9999) × (9988 / 9998) × … × (9981 / 9991)

= (9990 × 9989 × 9988 × … × 9981) / (10000 × 9999 × 9998 × … × 9991)


Final Answers:

(a) Probability = 999 / 1000
(b) Probability = (9990 × 9989) / (10000 × 9999)
(c) Probability = (9990 × 9989 × 9988 × … × 9981) / (10000 × 9999 × 9998 × … × 9991)

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