A small choir has \(24\) members: \(14\) sopranos and \(10\) altos. Four members are selected to form a quartet so that every possible four-person group is equally likely.
a) Find the probability that all four selected members are sopranos.
b) Find the probability that the quartet contains exactly two sopranos and two altos.
c) The choir has two featured soloists, both sopranos. Find the probability that both soloists are selected.
d) Describe an urn model for this selection process and explain the parameters.
Hints
- Count all groups of \(4\) from \(24\).
- For a group containing members from two voice parts, count the choices from each part separately.
- If two specified people are already included, determine how many places remain to fill.
- For the urn model, decide what each ball, color, special mark, and draw represents.
Solution
a) There are \(\binom{24}{4}=10{,}626\) possible quartets, so \(P(\text{all sopranos})=\frac{\binom{14}{4}}{\binom{24}{4}}=\frac{1001}{10626}\approx0.09420\).
b) \(P(\text{two sopranos and two altos})=\frac{\binom{14}{2}\binom{10}{2}}{\binom{24}{4}}=\frac{4095}{10626}\approx0.38538\).
c) If both specified soloists are selected, choose the other two members from the remaining \(22\): \(P=\frac{\binom{22}{2}}{\binom{24}{4}}=\frac{231}{10626}\approx0.02174\).
d) Use \(24\) distinct balls, one for each choir member. Use one color for the \(14\) sopranos and another for the \(10\) altos, specially mark the two featured soloists, and draw \(4\) balls without replacement. Because the outcome is a quartet rather than an ordered sequence, ignore draw order.
Answer
a) \(\frac{1001}{10626}\approx0.09420\)
b) \(\frac{4095}{10626}\approx0.38538\)
c) \(\frac{231}{10626}\approx0.02174\)
d) Use \(24\) distinct balls representing the members, encode voice part by color, mark the two soloists, and draw \(4\) without replacement while ignoring order.