acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Last byte

Puzzled: Tumbling Dice


tumbling dice

Credit: iStockPhoto.com

These puzzles involve computing probabilities associated with dice.

The full text of this article is premium content


Comments


navneeth mandavilli

"the number N of different numbers that appear is determined; for example, if the dice show 3,4,1,6,5,6, then N = 5, and if they show 6,2,2,3,6,2, then N = 3"

It's not clear how N is determined in the above example. What precisely is N supposed to represent?


Jeremy Hansen

Hi Navneeth:

With the dice showing 3,4,1,6,5,6, the numbers 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 all appear, with 6 appearing more than once in this case. Because there are 5 different numbers represented, N=5. With 6, 2, 2, 3, 6, 2, only three numbers appear: 2, 3, and 6, so N=3.


Displaying all 2 comments

Log in to Read the Full Article

Sign In

Sign in using your ACM Web Account username and password to access premium content if you are an ACM member, Communications subscriber or Digital Library subscriber.

Need Access?

Please select one of the options below for access to premium content and features.

Create a Web Account

If you are already an ACM member, Communications subscriber, or Digital Library subscriber, please set up a web account to access premium content on this site.

Join the ACM

Become a member to take full advantage of ACM's outstanding computing information resources, networking opportunities, and other benefits.
  

Subscribe to Communications of the ACM Magazine

Get full access to 50+ years of CACM content and receive the print version of the magazine monthly.

Purchase the Article

Non-members can purchase this article or a copy of the magazine in which it appears.
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account