In the game of roulette, the wheel has slots numbered 0, 00, and 1 through 36.

A metal ball rolls around a wheel until it falls into one of the numbered slots. What is the probability that the ball will land in the slot numbered 17 two times in a row?

Approach The sample space of the experiment has 38 outcomes. We use the classical method of computing probabilities because the outcomes are equally likely. In addition, we use the Multiplication Rule for Independent Events. The events “17 on Spin 1” and “17 on Spin 2” are independent because the ball does not remember it landed on 17 on the first spin, so this cannot affect the probability of landing on 17 on the second spin.