What a great problem!!!
(I must have gotten slower (and stupider) in the last 10 years)
Newsgroups: rec.puzzles
Date: Sat, 14 Nov 2015 15:18:24 -0800 (PST)
Subject: (CarTalk) (100 passengers lined up to board an airplane) -- The Last Seat
From: henhanna@gmail.com
(CarTalk) I think this was first aired 11 years ago.
... and again on NPR in the last week or two.
(not a trick question -- a pure math (probability) problem)
_________________
RAY: You're one of a hundred people standing in line to get onto an airplane that has 100 seats. There's a seat for every person who's in line, and each of you has a boarding pass for your assigned a seat.
The first person to walk onto the plane drops his boarding pass and, instead of picking it up, decides, "I'm just going to sit anyplace." He takes a seat at random.
Now, every other passenger will take either his [or her] assigned seat or, if that seat is taken, that passenger will take any seat at random.
_________________
TOM: I've been on that flight!
RAY: You are the last passenger to walk onto the plane. Obviously, there's going to be one seat left, because everyone else is sitting in his correct seat, or not.
The question is: What are the chances that you get to sit in your assigned seat?
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