Question

The lights go out, your bedroom is pitch dark, yet you still need to find a pair of socks, in your drawer there is 25 white socks and 25 red socks how many socks do you need to pull out before you get a matching pair?

Answer 1

Answer: At most 3

Explanation:

If there are 25 white socks and 25 red socks, a matching pair would be picked in at most 3 times.

The first sock you pick would be either White or Red

The second sock you pick would be either white or red again which means that you now either have 2 whites, 2 reds or 1 white and 1 red.

The third sock you pick will either be white or red once more. At this point you will either have 3 whites, 3 reds, 2 whites and 1 red or 2 reds and 1 white.

You will therefore have at least a matching pair after 3 tries.