The probability of not getting 53 Tuesdays in a leap year is:
\( \frac{5}{7} \)
Let's break down how to calculate the probability of not getting 53 Tuesdays in a leap year. A leap year is special because it has one extra day compared to a regular year.
A leap year consists of 366 days. This is exactly 52 weeks and 2 extra days. We can see this with a simple calculation:
\( 366 \, \text{days} = 52 \, \text{weeks} \times 7 \, \text{days/week} + 2 \, \text{days} \)
Since there are 52 full weeks, there will always be at least 52 Tuesdays in a leap year. The question is whether there will be a 53rd Tuesday.
The probability of getting a 53rd Tuesday (or not getting one) depends entirely on the nature of these two extra days. These two consecutive days can be any of the following pairs:
There are 7 equally likely possible outcomes for these two extra days.
There will be 53 Tuesdays if one of the two extra days is a Tuesday. Looking at the list of possible pairs, this happens in the following cases:
So, there are 2 outcomes where the leap year will have 53 Tuesdays.
The question asks for the probability of not getting 53 Tuesdays. This means neither of the two extra days should be a Tuesday. Looking at the list of possible pairs, these outcomes are:
There are 5 outcomes where the leap year will not have 53 Tuesdays.
Probability is calculated as:
$$ \text{Probability} = \frac{\text{Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{Total number of possible outcomes}} $$
In this case:
Therefore, the probability of not getting 53 Tuesdays in a leap year is:
$$ P(\text{not 53 Tuesdays}) = \frac{5}{7} $$
| Event | Number of Outcomes |
|---|---|
| Leap year (366 days) | 52 weeks + 2 days |
| Possible pairs for 2 extra days | 7 |
| Outcomes with 53 Tuesdays (Monday, Tuesday; Tuesday, Wednesday) | 2 |
| Outcomes without 53 Tuesdays (Sunday, Monday; Wednesday, Thursday; Thursday, Friday; Friday, Saturday; Saturday, Sunday) | 5 |
| Probability of not getting 53 Tuesdays | 5/7 |
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| Leap Year Days | 366 |
| Leap Year Structure | 52 weeks and 2 extra days |
| Possible pairs for extra days | 7 (SM, MT, TW, WT, TF, FS, SS) |
| Pairs giving 53rd Tuesday | 2 (MT, TW) |
| Pairs NOT giving 53rd Tuesday | 5 (SM, WT, TF, FS, SS) |
| Probability Formula | Favorable Outcomes / Total Outcomes |
| Probability of not 53 Tuesdays | 5/7 |
Understanding probability related to calendar days is a common type of question. Here are some related concepts:
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If a, b and c are three vectors such that a + b + c = 0, where a and b are unit vectors and | c| = 2, then the angle between the vectors b and c is: