Seven white balls and three black balls are randomly arranged in a row. The probability that no two black…

Seven white balls and three black balls are randomly arranged in a row. The probability that no two black balls are placed adjacently is
  1. $\frac{1}{2}$
  2. $\frac{7}{15}$
  3. $\frac{2}{15}$
  4. $\frac{1}{3}$

Solution

Firstly we fix the seven white balls in alternate position in 7 !. In out of 8 positions 3 black balls can be placed in ${ }^8 P_3$ ways. $\begin{aligned} & \therefore \text { Required probability }=\frac{7 ! \times{ }^8 P_3}{10 !} \\ & =\frac{7 ! \times 8 !}{5 ! \times 10 !} \\ & =\frac{8 \times 7 \times 6}{10 \times 9 \times 8}=\frac{7}{15} \end{aligned}$

Asked in: AP EAMCET 2011

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