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Five random intervals sharing a common point

Question

Each of five intervals is produced by drawing two independent U[0,1]U[0,1] points and using the smaller as the left end and the larger as the right end. The probability that all five intervals have a point in common is pq\tfrac pq in lowest terms. Find p+qp+q.

Short answer

7171. Only the relative order of the ten endpoints matters. The intervals share a point exactly when every left end precedes every right end; that happens with probability (5!)2 2510!=863\tfrac{(5!)^2\,2^5}{10!}=\tfrac{8}{63}, so p+q=71p+q=71.

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

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