Mathematics Discussion

Part A: Odds of Winning with $1

The state I chose to base my example on is California, and the lottery in discussion will be the Mega Millions. Within the state of California, Mega Millions tickets are $2 per play. As I am unable to buy half of a ticket, a spend of $1 would not allow me to play to take a full part in the lottery, so a full entry ticket has to be considered, which costs $2. This would leave me with a chance of 1 in 302,575,350 to win the jackpot when the price of one ticket is $2. That means my chances of winning with a single ticket are slim-negligible, given the enormous number of possible combinations.

Part B: Odds of Winning with $50

If I decide to spend $50 on Mega Millions tickets, I can buy 25 entries since each ticket costs $2. With 25 entries, my overall odds of winning the jackpot increase to 25 in 302,575,350, which is approximately 1 in 12,103,014. Although these odds are better than buying a single ticket, they are still exceedingly slim. Even if I consistently bought $50 worth of tickets every week, the likelihood of winning the jackpot remains remote and unrealistic over the long term.

Part C: Comparison with Odds of Being Struck by Lightning

To put the likelihood of winning the jackpot for Mega Millions into perspective, I compared it with the chances of death due to being struck by lightning. The CDC (2024) estimated that in any given year in the United States, the chances of being struck by lightning are less than 1 in 1,000,000. This means that I am far more likely to be struck by lightning than win the Mega Millions jackpot, even if I spent $50 on tickets. Every year, roughly 40 million lightning strikes reach the ground in this country, and nearly 90% of the people struck survive (CDC, 2024). But when I put that into the context of how much more likely I am to get struck by lightning than to win Mega Millions, it puts into perspective how slim my chances will be, no matter how many tickets I buy. Such a comparison helps me make out the fact that playing the lottery is actually like expecting a miracle, and definitely far from guaranteed.

References

CDC. (2024, April 23). Lightning Strike Victim Data. Lightning. https://www.cdc.gov/lightning/data-research/index.html

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Almost anyone in the United States can play the lottery, and lottery games come in many kinds. You might be surprised how many people dedicate $50 (or more) a week to playing lotto games. But can the games you choose significantly affect your chances of winning? For the next exercise, you must use the internet to find information.
1. Choose a state that runs lotteries.
A. Calculate your odds of winning if you spend $1 on an entry.
B. Calculate your odds of winning if you spend $50 on an entry.
C. Compare these odds to the odds of being in a car accident, plane crash, struck by lightning, or hit by a meteorite.
(These numbers are out there, so search for them!)

Mathematics Discussion