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A thief has a bunch of n keys, exactly one of which fits a lock. If the thief tries to open the lock by trying the keys at random, what is the probability that he will succeed?

A. 1/n
B. 1/(n+1)
C. 1/2
D. 1

User Blgt
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1 Answer

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The correct answer to this question is A. 1/n.

Why is 1/n the probability that he will succeed?

Each key has an equal probability of being the right one: Since the thief doesn't have any prior knowledge about the correct key, we can assume all keys have the same probability of fitting the lock.

Independent events: Each attempt with a key is independent of the previous attempts. The success or failure of one attempt doesn't affect the probability of success in the next attempt.

Probability of success in one attempt: The probability of the thief succeeding with any single key is 1/n, as there's just one correct key among n possibilities.

Therefore, regardless of the number of keys (n), the probability of the thief successfully opening the lock on any given attempt remains 1/n.

User Shui Shengbao
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