Life or Death? The Emperor's Proposition
You are a prisoner sentenced to death. The Emperor offers you a
chance to live by playing a simple game. He gives you 50 black marbles,
50 white marbles and 2 empty bowls. He then says, "Divide these 100
marbles into these 2 bowls. You can divide them any way you like as long
as you use all the marbles. Then I will blindfold you and mix the bowls
around. You then can choose one bowl and remove ONE marble. If the
marble is WHITE you will live, but if the marble is BLACK... you will
die."
How do you divide the marbles up so that you have the greatest
probability of choosing a WHITE marble?
Solutions: