Skip to content

Even gaps between six pairs of coloured blocks

Question

Hannah owns 1212 blocks, two of each of 66 colours, and lays them in a row in a uniformly random order. What is the probability that, for every colour, the number of blocks lying strictly between the two blocks of that colour is even?

Short answer

16231\tfrac{16}{231}. An even gap means the pair occupies one odd and one even position. So each colour gets exactly one of the six odd slots and one of the six even slots: 6!⋅6!6!\cdot6! arrangements out of 12!26\tfrac{12!}{2^6}, giving 16231\tfrac{16}{231}.

Adapted from QuantQuestions.io; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

See the hint and the full worked solution in the question bank (free account).

Open the worked solution

Lessons behind this question

Start with a free lesson: Probability Fundamentals is part of a free topic. Create a free account, no card needed, to read it in full with worked solutions.

Read it free