/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.5989254]

Is Who wants to be a millionaire just a game of luck?

I mean, there's 33.34% chance of being right unless the person happens to know the right answer, and lifelines can only get you so far into the game.

Let's say there are 15 questions with 4 choices each. Let's also say there are 3 lifelines: call-a-friend, 50-50, and ask-the-audience.

For each of the 15 questions, there is only 1 correct answer, and 3 incorrect answers, so immediately your chances are 1/3 = 33.34%. You can use each lifeline once. Using phone-a-friend, let's say gives you a 95% chance the person you call is correct. So 1 question is 95%. Similarly, we can say ask-the-audience gives you a 95% chance. Finally, 50-50 will remove 2 wrong answers, so you have 1 right answer and 1 wrong answer, so you basically know the answer. To recap:

Question 1: 33.34%
Question 2: 33.34%
Question 3: 33.34%
Question 4: 95% <--- ask-the-audience
Question 5: 33.34%
Question 6: 33.34%
Question 7: 33.34%
Question 8: 33.34%
Question 9: 95% <--- phone-a-friend
Question 10: 33.34%
Question 11: 33.34%
Question 12: 33.34%
Question 13: 33.34%
Question 14: 33.34%
Question 15: 100% <--- 50-50
Total: 690.08%
Divided by 15 questions = 46.00%
So basically, it's more a less a game of chance, but more than half the people on the show will lose, so it's not very fair. That show is making tons of money off of people.

[Anonymous No.5989263]

because of my roommate i sit through this show every day.
I usually know the answer; maybe 70-80%

there is luck involved but lots ot stupid people (watch "celib" episodes) don't even do as well as chance.
David Duchonovy got kicked after his first questionand. Gene Simmons got laughted at by the audience.Kinda creul really, Poor little Gene is mildly retarded.
Answer: it is largly a game of chance but not entirely.

[Anonymous No.5989264]

If there's only one question, there are four possible answers, and one of them is correct. Chances of guessing the correct one = 25%.

If there are two questions, there are eight possible answers, and two correct answers. Chances of guessing them both: 25%

If there are 15 questions, there are 60 possible answers, and 15 correct ones. Chances of guessing all 15: 25%.

[Anonymous No.5989269]

It's based off chance if you're an idiot and just try to guess the answers for all 15 answers.
Also, if one in four of the answers is correct the odds are 1 in 4, not 1 in 3.

[Anonymous No.5989289]

this is a troll guise

[Anonymous No.5989291]

You don't add percentages, you multiple. If the first answer is 25% chance and the second is 25% than the chance to get both is 6.25%. If you do that for all the questions you get (1/4)^15 = 0.00000009% from random guessing

[Anonymous No.5989302]

>>5989291
>>5989269
>>5989264
>>5989263

>being this new

[Anonymous No.5989335]

>>5989302
Exactly what I was thinking. I guess I really haven't seen this in awhile. I almost missed it.