Chapter 9.1, Problem 57E

Solution

To state: The fewest number of years that are required for every possible bridge hand to be dealt if it is dealt in the world every second.

The resultant answer is 20,123 years.

Given information:

The given statement says that a bridge hand is dealt in the world every second.

Explanation:

Contract bridge also known as bridge game is a trick- taking card game. It is played using a standard 52-deck.

The number of cards in a bridge hand: 13

The number of ways of selecting a bridge hand: $C_{{52}_{13}}$

The value of $C_{{52}_{13}}$ will be $635,013,559,600$ .

Number of seconds in a day: $24\cdot 60\cdot 60=86,400$

Number of seconds in a year: $365\cdot 86,400=31,556,736$

Then the number of years required for every possible bridge hand to be dealt will become:

  $\frac{635,013,559,600}{31,556,736}\approx 20,123$

Therefore, the number of years will be 20,123.