2014 AIME I Problems/Problem 2

Problem 2

An urn contains $4$ green balls and $6$ blue balls. A second urn contains $16$ green balls and $N$ blue balls. A single ball is drawn at random from each urn. The probability that both balls are of the same color is $0.58$. Find $N$.

Solution

First, we find the probability both are green, then the probability both are blue, and add the two probabilities. The sum should be equal to $0.58$.

The probability both are green is $\frac{4}{10}\cdot\frac{16}{16+N}$, and the probability both are blue is $\frac{6}{10}\cdot\frac{N}{16+N}$, so \[\frac{4}{10}\cdot\frac{16}{16+N}+\frac{6}{10}\cdot\frac{N}{16+N}=\frac{29}{50}\] Solving this equation, \[20\left(\frac{16}{16+N}\right)+30\left(\frac{N}{16+N}\right)=29\] Multiplying both sides by $16+N$, we get

\begin{align*} 20\cdot16+30\cdot N&=29(16+N)\\ 320+30N&=464+29N\\ N&=\boxed{144} \end{align*}

See also

2014 AIME I (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 1
Followed by
Problem 3
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