TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
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I need to check my reasoning for another weird calculation in my book.
Assume that one person sneezes, on average, once every three days (not a real figure). He/she does not sneeze when sleeping.
Over the course of 70 years, what's the probability that two people will sneeze at the same time (where "same time" means within .1 second)?
Here's my calculation, please let me know if I'm thinking straight.
In three 16-hour days there are 173,000 seconds, or 1,730,000 .1 second periods.
The chance that the two people will sneeze "simultaneously" in a three-day period is therefore one chance in 1,730,000.
In 70 years, there are 8,517 three-day periods. So the probability comes to 1 / 1,730,000 * 8517 = .0049 or
About one chance in 200.
Is my reasoning correct?
Assume that one person sneezes, on average, once every three days (not a real figure). He/she does not sneeze when sleeping.
Over the course of 70 years, what's the probability that two people will sneeze at the same time (where "same time" means within .1 second)?
Here's my calculation, please let me know if I'm thinking straight.
In three 16-hour days there are 173,000 seconds, or 1,730,000 .1 second periods.
The chance that the two people will sneeze "simultaneously" in a three-day period is therefore one chance in 1,730,000.
In 70 years, there are 8,517 three-day periods. So the probability comes to 1 / 1,730,000 * 8517 = .0049 or
About one chance in 200.
Is my reasoning correct?