Joe keeps all his socks in one drawer. He has 7 blue socks and 9 brown socks. If he reaches in the drawer without looking, what is the least number of socks he can take out to be sure of getting a pair of the same color?

blue, brown. on the first two. The next sock makes a pair.

16

To be sure of getting a pair of the same color, Joe needs to take out at least 4 socks.

Here is the step-by-step explanation:

1. In the worst-case scenario, Joe would first pick one blue sock.
2. Then, Joe would pick one brown sock.
3. Next, Joe would pick another blue sock.
4. Finally, to be sure of getting a pair of the same color, Joe would need to pick one more brown sock.

Therefore, to be sure of getting a pair of socks of the same color, Joe needs to take out at least 4 socks.

To find the least number of socks Joe needs to take out to be sure of getting a pair of the same color, we need to consider the worst-case scenario. In this case, the worst-case scenario would be that Joe initially takes out all the socks of one color (either all blue or all brown) before he gets a pair.

Since Joe has 7 blue socks and 9 brown socks, the worst-case scenario is that he takes out all the blue socks before getting a pair. In this scenario, Joe would need to take out 6 blue socks to be sure of getting a pair (6 blue socks + 1 more sock would give him a pair of blue socks).

Therefore, the least number of socks Joe needs to take out to be sure of getting a pair of the same color is 6.