Final answer:
To calculate the probability of solving the puzzle within the next 100 minutes, divide the average number of hashes by the hashrate to find the average time. Then, divide 100 minutes by the average time to find the probability.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the probability of solving the puzzle within the next 100 minutes, we need to first calculate the average time it takes to solve the puzzle.
The average time can be found by dividing the average number of hashes by the hashrate:
Average time = Average number of hashes / Hashrate
Substituting the given values, we have:
Average time = 2^292 / 20 megahashes/second
Next, we need to calculate the probability of solving the puzzle within the next 100 minutes.
This can be found by dividing 100 minutes by the average time:
Probability = 100 minutes / Average time
Substituting the calculated average time, we can calculate the probability.