1989 AJHSME Problems/Problem 25

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Problem

Every time these two wheels are spun, two numbers are selected by the pointers. What is the probability that the sum of the two selected numbers is even?

$\text{(A)}\ \frac{1}{6} \qquad \text{(B)}\ \frac{3}{7} \qquad \text{(C)}\ \frac{1}{2} \qquad \text{(D)}\ \frac{2}{3} \qquad \text{(E)}\ \frac{5}{7}$

[asy] unitsize(36); draw(circle((-3,0),1)); draw(circle((0,0),1)); draw((0,0)--dir(30)); draw((0,0)--(0,-1)); draw((0,0)--dir(150)); draw((-2.293,.707)--(-3.707,-.707)); draw((-2.293,-.707)--(-3.707,.707)); fill((-2.9,1)--(-2.65,1.25)--(-2.65,1.6)--(-3.35,1.6)--(-3.35,1.25)--(-3.1,1)--cycle,black); fill((.1,1)--(.35,1.25)--(.35,1.6)--(-.35,1.6)--(-.35,1.25)--(-.1,1)--cycle,black); label("$5$",(-3,.2),N); label("$3$",(-3.2,0),W); label("$4$",(-3,-.2),S); label("$8$",(-2.8,0),E); label("$6$",(0,.2),N); label("$9$",(-.2,.1),SW); label("$7$",(.2,.1),SE); [/asy]

Solution

For the sum to be even, the two selected numbers must have the same parity.

The first spinner has $2$ odd numbers and $2$ even, so no matter what the second spinner is, there is a $1/2$ chance the first spinner lands on a number with the same parity, so the probability of an even sum is $1/2\rightarrow \boxed{\text{C}}$.

See Also

1989 AJHSME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
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Problem 24
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