Exam Question ... Strategy

[revlis87]

i have an exam tommorow. there are 16 possible essays. i know (sort of) 11 of them. there will be 3 on the test, i have to choose 1 of them to do. What are the odds 3 of the ones i dont know will be on teh test and i get [censored]? this is actually important so uh, please?

[kyro]

There's a probability forum, uh, you know.

[yellowjack]

You're looking at C(5,3) / C(16,3) = (5/16)*(4/15)*(3/14) = 1.7857%

[lastchance]

Odds of not knowing one:
(5/16)*(4/15)*(3/14) = 1.7%

I think this is right. You should feel pretty safe.

[eviljeff]

and if 0.017 hits, well... learning during the exam is always a rewarding experience.

[IronDragon1]

Are you just learning to the specific essays and are planning to come in with a precanned answer? I find it it hard to believe that the curriculum is so disjointed these essays are so unreleated to eachother that tailoring your studying specifically to them would be more beneficial than just learning the content of the course-but of course I've been wrong on this count before.

If the essays are truly that different in content then you should feel comfortable in that you are likely to encounter one you do know-as was pointed out before and try to refine your responses to those essays.