The Challenge:

The following "Guest Problem" was submitted by Joseph Ross, a former Dolphin whose last year at Welleby was the 1992-'93 school year.

The Green Bay Packers have five different running backs with jersey numbers 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. They always run their offense with two of these men in the backfield. The New England Patriots defensive coordinator can tell by the sum of the two players' numbers if the play will be a run or a pass. If the sum is even, the play will be a run. If the sum is odd, the play will be a pass. Assuming all of the combinations were used evenly, what is the chance that any one play was a pass in Sunday's Super Bowl XXXI ?

The Solution:

Should you decide to ponder the problem and accept the challenge, communicate your solution to Mister Goodmath at "rooneym@mistergoodmath.org". Great solutions will be featured on T.V. during WAVE morning announcements.
 

The Hint:

Consider making an organized list of all the possible running back combinations. Remember, "Making an Organized List," is one of the strategies of problem solving that Welleby taechers are trying to get you to master. Use your calculators to make the necessary conversions to percent numbers.