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To: Cisco who wrote (186)2/4/2005 11:25:13 AM
From: TigerPaw  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 228
 
starting with the correct letter would be 1 in 36.

Aren't there 26 letters? What language?

If so there are 26 choices for the 1st initial.

You didn't say, but I assume that more than one child could have the same starting letter so there are 26 choices for the second and 26 for the third for a total of 26 * 26 * 26.

If you only look at the letter then you can't tell letters which are the same from each other (In other words, if all three children's name begins with A then you can't tell the
choices of A1 A2 A3 from A3 A2 A1). If however, you know the ordering of the father then you would presumably know the ordering of the children. If you don't know, you would have to subtract off the equivalent choices. There are six ways that 3 names with the same first letter could be arranged as I stated in the last message so you would subtract 6 * 26, and you would then have to subtract off the different ways that two out of the three names could have the same first letter.



To: Cisco who wrote (186)2/4/2005 11:42:39 AM
From: JayPC  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 228
 
I guess I am trying to show that it would be highly unlikely that it occurred by chance, but rather it was chosen whether consciously or unconsciously.

If you are trying to solve for a real life case, I suggest math will not give you the definitive answer you are looking for. As TP stated you have to assume that people choose the first letter of baby names at random. If this is an actual exam question, it's too ambiguous to solve.

Regards,
Jay