a man walked up a hill at 6am he got to top at 6pm the next day he walked down the hill using the same path at 6am and got to the bottom at 6:00pm what is the probability that the man passed the exact tree or plant at the exact same time as he did when he first walked up the hill the day before
2006-06-21 10:53:33 · 8 answers · asked by any-e-way 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
The probability = 1 (100%)
That's pretty simple, but it's more of a riddle than a probability question. I think you knew that.(There might not be any trees or plants, but we know what you mean.)
It doesn't matter whether he walks at a constant velocity coming or going (He can speed up and slow down, as long as he makes the trip in 12 hrs.) He will be at exactly the same place at the same time as the day before, once. This is easily understood if, intsead, you imagine one man starting from the bottom and another man from the top. They have to meet, and when they do they will be at the same spot at the same time. It's irrelevant that it's the same man (a day apart).
2006-06-21 12:09:47 · answer #1 · answered by Jimbo 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The probability is near zero, as there is only one possibility - the one passing a tree exactly at mid day.
The probability to pass one not-given plant at exactly the same time, is very high (actually 1 or 100%9, given that there is some vegetation all the way. A blade of grass would be at exactly the middle of the stretch...
2006-06-21 11:03:19 · answer #2 · answered by swissnick 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
0. The times would have passed anything would be at a minimum 24 hours apart.
If the question is the probability that he passed the object exactly 1 day later, then I think it would still be darn close to zero, simply because of the word "exact." Time and space are analog. They can only be measured to a certain point.
2006-06-21 11:00:08 · answer #3 · answered by Craig D 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hold up ... hold up...
First of all i hate probability, because it has no pattern and logic behind...
Plus by exact time u mean seconds. right ?
If he used the same road that he climed up to clime down then i would say the probability is 1/43200 ...bt in this case we have to consider that it took him exactly 12 hour to climb up and climb down... (as u said...)
now my logic: there are 3600 seconds in one min (60 x 60). Now we have 12 hours , so 12 x 3600 = 43200 sec. therefor its 1/the number we just found.
But if u say the man walked down with the same speed he climbed up, then the answer would be obvious;) 100%... (Counstant speed).
anyways i think am right and i could help u :P
lemme know if am right ;)
good luck
2006-06-21 11:21:46 · answer #4 · answered by â? MÎ?Я©ỮÅ?Â¥ â?¢ â? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The probability is one (100%). This is due to a theorem in topology called the fixed point theorem. If you map a line continuously back onto itself, then there will be at least one point that did not move. Here the line is the path that is travelled.
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/FixedPointTheorem.html
2006-06-21 15:52:31 · answer #5 · answered by Stochastic 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no way to know without knowing whether his speed was relatively constant, or he was speeding up and slowing done. The fact that the total time taken was the same is not enough.
ADDED: jimbo is correct. I misread the question. Sorry about that.
2006-06-21 11:00:57 · answer #6 · answered by -j. 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The answer is zero. Exact, there can be no exact. If you start dividing a second, you can keep going forever.
Since there are infinite posibilities there is zero probability
2006-06-21 11:11:39 · answer #7 · answered by jeremycharles7 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont think you can answer that with a percentage
2006-06-21 10:58:21 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋