Probability – What Are the Chances of Rolling a 6 with 6-Sided Dice?

dicegamesprobability

More generally, what is the probability that n n-sided dice will turn up at least one side with the highest number ("n")?

My crude thinking is that each side has 1/6 probability, so that 6 of them (1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6 + 1/6) equals 100% of the time, but this obviously cannot be the case.

2 coins getting one T (say), has 3/4 of the time that at least one will be a T (for every 2 coin tosses). But this is 75% for a 2d2 dice throw, what is the general formula for NdN?

Best Answer

Probability of a die not turning up $n$ is $1-1/n$. Probability of not turning up $n$ in any of the $n$ dice is $(1-1/n)^n$. If you subtract this from $1$, it'll be probability of at least one $n$ turning up when you throw $n$ dice, i.e.

$$p=1-(1-1/n)^n\rightarrow 1-e^{-1}$$ as $n$ goes to $\infty.$

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