Try this beautiful problem from AMC 10A, 2005 based on Probability in Game.
Team A and team B play a series. The first team to win three games wins the series. Each team is equally likely to win each game, there are no ties, and the outcomes of the individual games are independent. If team B wins the second game and team A wins the series, what is the probability that team B wins the first game?
Probability
combinatorics
Answer: \(\frac{1}{5}\)
AMC-10A (2005) Problem 18
Pre College Mathematics
Given that The first team to win three games wins the series, team B wins the second game and team A wins the series. So the Total number of games played=\(5\). Now we have to find out the possible order of wins.....
Can you now finish the problem ..........
Possible cases :
If team B won the first two games, team A would need to win the next three games. Therefore the possible order of wins is BBAAA.
If team A won the first game, and team B won the second game, the possible order of wins is $A B B A A, A B A B A,$ and $A B A A X,$ where $X$ denotes that the 5th game wasn't played.
since ABAAX is dependent on the outcome of 4 games instead of 5, it is twice as likely to occur and can be treated as two possibilities.
According to the question, there is One possibility where team $\mathrm{B}$ wins the first game and 5 total possibilities, Therefore the required probability is \(\frac{ 1}{5}\)
AMC - AIME Boot Camp... for brilliant students.
Use our exclusive one-on-one plus group class system to prepare for Math Olympiad
Publishing original scientific research in a peer-reviewed journal is an achievement many scholars work toward for years. Achieving this feat early in one's academic journey requires exceptional intellectual rigor, creativity, and persistence. Aaditya Punatar and Muskan Sadana have reached this remarkable milestone, successfully publishing their collaborative research paper in the prestigious Journal of Emerging Investigators […]
Her project on quantum-accelerated Steiner trees for 15-minute cities earned a place among the finalists at the world's largest pre-college STEM competition. Prishaa Shrimali of Marymount School of New York, was selected as a Grand Finalist at the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix, Arizona. Her project was Optimizing Urban Accessibility: […]
In 2026, the following Cheenta students have been successful for Indian Statistical Institute's M.Stat Entrance. They ranked within the first 50 in the entire country in these entrances. I.S.I. M.Stat Entrance
In 2026, the following Cheenta students have been successful for Indian Statistical Institute's B.Stat Entrance and Chennai Mathematical Institute's B.Sc. Math Entrance. They ranked within the first 200 in the entire country in these entrances. Most of these students attended the problem solving workshops regularly, which happen 5 days every week. CMI B.Sc. Math Entrance […]