Question

In a lottery, the top cash prize was $634 million, going to three lucky winners. Players pick four different numbers from 1 to 56 and one number from 1 to 46. A player wins a minimum award of $375 by correctly matching three numbers drawn from the white balls (1 through 56) and matching the number on the gold ball (1 through 46). What is the probability of winning the minimum award? The probability of winning the minimum award is __________. (Type an integer or a simplified tion.)

a) 1/1256

b) 1/150

c) 1/375

d) 1/46

Answer 1

The probability of winning the minimum award in the lottery is approximately 1/715.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the probability of winning the minimum award, we need to determine the number of ways to match three numbers drawn from the white balls (1 through 56) and match the number on the gold ball (1 through 46). The total number of possible combinations of the 4 white balls is C(56, 4), which is equal to 32,760. The total number of possible combinations of the gold ball is 46. To calculate the probability, we divide the number of successful outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes:

Probability = (Number of successful outcomes) / (Total number of possible outcomes)

Probability = 46 / 32,760

Therefore, the probability of winning the minimum award is approximately 1/715.