Section: Mathematics

17) If you draw 4 M&Ms from a bag containing 4 red, 4 yellow, 4 green, and 4 brown ones, what is the probability that you will get 1 of each color?

1. 48/455
2. 64/455
3. 128/1,365
4. 24/256

First you must determine the number of possible outcomes exist when 4 M&M's are chosen:


This is done by multiplying the number of M&M's in the bag during each draw and dividing it by the outcome of multiplying the number of draws. Thus,


16 x 15 x 14 x 13 / 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 1,820


Next you must divide the number of possible outcomes by the number of favorable choices multiplied by each color. This would be shown as:


4 x 4 x 4 x 4 / 1,820 = 256 / 1,820.


When this is reduced, the numerator and denominator can be divided by 4 resulting in 64/455.