A jar has eight red, nine blue, and ten green marbles. What is the least number of marbles that you can remove from the jar and be certain that you have three of the same color?
2 answers
7
The least number of marbles that you can remove from the jar to be certain you have three of the same color is 10.
This is because if you remove 10 marbles, you could potentially remove 8 red marbles, leaving only one red marble in the jar. Then, you could potentially remove 1 blue and 1 green marble, leaving only one blue and one green marble in the jar.
However, since there are still two different colors remaining in the jar, you are not certain to have three of the same color.
Therefore, you would need to remove 10 marbles to be certain that you have three of the same color.
This is because if you remove 10 marbles, you could potentially remove 8 red marbles, leaving only one red marble in the jar. Then, you could potentially remove 1 blue and 1 green marble, leaving only one blue and one green marble in the jar.
However, since there are still two different colors remaining in the jar, you are not certain to have three of the same color.
Therefore, you would need to remove 10 marbles to be certain that you have three of the same color.