In Matt’s pocket there are 8 watermelon jellybeans, 4 vanilla jellybeans and 4 butter popcorn jellybeans. What is the smallest number of jellybeans that he must take out of his pocket to be certain that he takes at least one of each flavour?

I think the answer is 13, but not sure. Can you help please!

all 8 watermelon

all 4 Vanilla
at least one butter
8+4+1 = 13 sure enough

13 cheers!

No it is 13

To find the smallest number of jellybeans that Matt must take out to be certain that he takes at least one of each flavor, you need to consider the worst-case scenario.

In this case, the worst-case scenario would be if Matt initially picks all of the jellybeans of one flavor before picking any of the other flavors.

So, let's calculate the number of jellybeans Matt could pick before having at least one of each flavor:

1. Start by assuming Matt picks all 8 watermelon jellybeans. He has not yet picked any of the other flavors.
2. Next, Matt could pick all 4 vanilla jellybeans. He still has not picked any butter popcorn jellybeans.
3. Finally, Matt needs to pick at least one butter popcorn jellybean to have at least one of each flavor.

Adding up the jellybeans, Matt needs to pick a minimum of 8 watermelon jellybeans + 4 vanilla jellybeans + 1 butter popcorn jellybean = 13 jellybeans.

So the smallest number of jellybeans Matt must take out of his pocket to be certain he takes at least one of each flavor is indeed 13.