A columnist for the Daily News in New York City wrote about

A columnist for the Daily News in New York City wrote about selecting lottery numbers. He states that some lottery numbers are more likely to occur because they haven\'t turned up as much as they should, and they are overdue. Is this reasoning correct? Do you agree with these answer, Why or why not?

a) This reason is not correct, because past drawings have no effect on the probability of future outcomes, since the balls are replaced back into the mix. There is no way to product which numbers are more likely or less likely to occur. The principle of independence would be applied here.

b) This reasoning is not correct because you cannot determine the numbers that will come out in the future. You wouldn’t be able to know which numbers will and will not be used again. The principle that is relevant here would be the principle of independence.

Solution

ANSWER: a) This reason is not correct, because past drawings have no effect on the probability of future outcomes, since the balls are replaced back into the mix. There is no way to product which numbers are more likely or less likely to occur. The principle of independence would be applied here.