2007 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 12

The following problem is from both the 2007 AMC 12A #12 and 2007 AMC 10A #16, so both problems redirect to this page.

Problem

Integers $a, b, c,$ and $d$ , not necessarily distinct, are chosen independently and at random from 0 to 2007, inclusive. What is the probability that $ad-bc$ is even?

$\mathrm{(A)}\ \frac 38\qquad \mathrm{(B)}\ \frac 7{16}\qquad \mathrm{(C)}\ \frac 12\qquad \mathrm{(D)}\ \frac 9{16}\qquad \mathrm{(E)}\ \frac 58$

Solution

The only times when $ad-bc$ is even is when $ad$ and $bc$ are of the same parity. The chance of $ad$ being odd is $\frac 12 \cdot \frac 12 = \frac 14$ , so it has a $\frac 34$ probability of being even. Therefore, the probability that $ad-bc$ will be even is $\left(\frac 14\right)^2+\left(\frac 34\right)^2=\frac 58\ \mathrm{(E)}$ .

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2007 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 12

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