Math problem help

Looking for some general help on a math/probability problem. At one point I probably knew how to figure this out. Perhaps I should still know, but I can't seem to get it. I'm looking for a general way to figure out the following type of problem...

Given an infinitely (sufficiently) large population of marbles of which 10% are green and 90% are blue, what is the probability of picking 10 marbles of which exactly 3 are green?

I know the chance of picking one green marble is 0.1, and I know that the chance of picking 3 green marbles in a row is 0.001 (0.1 x 0.1 x 0.1). But I'm confused when it comes to figuring in that order is unimportant and that a finite number of marbles is being picked - clearly the chance of picking exactly 3 green marbles in 10 tries is different from picking exactly 3 green marbles in 100 tries. Any help? In the end I'd like to generalize the process - given a population of which X% are a given kind, what is the chance of subsampling exactly Y individuals in Z tries.

Thanks in advance...

SEA

As Rick made perfectly clear in my last post, I am unable to embed this nice little video from Sea Education Association. So instead, go check it out on their own site and see what a cool program it is.

Damn West Coast

I need a nap.

Generation K

It seems that parents who had girls born in 1990 were fascinated with the letter K. My roster for introductory biology this year includes:

Krysten
Katelyn (#1)
Katelyn (#2)
Kathryn (#1)
Kathryn (#2)
Kelsey
Kelilah
Kellie
Kasey

That's over 50% of the women in the class. 'K' isn't supposed to be a popular letter. In fact, it's the 21st most frequent letter in the English language (only ahead of 'J', 'X', 'Q', and 'Z'). It's worth 5 points in Scrabble! How am I supposed to learn who's who?

Moray Mystery

Rick at MBSL&S has a very interesting post about the mysterious deaths of dozens of moray eels in the Antilles. As much as I would rather he didn't have to write about such an event, he does a great job of relaying the real-world issues and science at hand. Go check it out - it's a good, yet unfortunate, read.

Batten down the hatches

(Apparently I linked to an image that gets updated, so this post makes less sense now...)

This could get a little choppy...

Friday Dial Stopper - Talk Like a Pirate Day Edition

What would "Talk Like a Pirate Day" be without a little Captain Jack?

200 years too late?

What type of Pirate am I? You tell me...

What kind of pirate am I? You decide!
You can also view a breakdown of results or put one of these on your own page!
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

(a bottle of rum raised to Kate/Dorid for this)

Tenacious

I found this little snake in my backyard this afternoon. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but at only about 8 inches long, it must have been literally 1,000s of times smaller than me. Did it care? Did it quickly slither away upon being discovered? Uh, no. Gotta respect that.

Fits two people? Really?

I meant to post this photo weeks ago, after our D.C. vacation, but had forgotten about it until now.

Here's Jack peering into the bathysphere on display at the National Geographic Society:

Does Sarah Palin know the difference between icing and offsides?

Granted, Jack has only been playing hockey for a year now. Still, Linda is technically a "hockey mom", so this is entirely appropriate (and funny)

Just what I always wanted...

I'm looking for someone to help me bankroll a purchase. I figure if we each go in for half, we can figure out how to split the usage throughout the year - perhaps switch off every three months? Serious inquiries only please.

LHC Rap

This actually helped me understand the Large Hadron Collider a little bit better!

I thought pirates did everything...

I'm not entirely sure about the validity of the title, but I'm thinking this children's book should be added to our home library.

Friday Dial Stopper

Inspired by my previous post...with a twist...

"...set an open course for the virgin sea"

2008 - 2009 ANNOUNCEMENT SEA is now accepting applications for the 2008-2009 academic year. Sea Education Association now offers three unique opportunities for undergraduates to spend a semester studying the oceans in the world-renown oceanographic community of Woods Hole, MA and aboard one of our modern sailing research vessels during an oceanic passage in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean. SEA Semester: Ocean Exploration - This long-standing, innovative program offers students of all majors a multidisciplinary approach to studying the world's oceans from scientific, maritime cultural, and modern seafaring perspectives. Celestial navigation, meteorology, seamanship, oceanographic sampling techniques and research, and maritime history, literature and policy comprise the core curriculum. SEA Semester: Documenting Change in the Caribbean - Humanities, Environmental Studies, Geography and Social Sciences students are prepared for an extraordinary project-based academic experience. Few regions have seen such enormous changes in the last five centuries as the islands in the Caribbean Sea. Today, there is a dynamic mix of cultures and biota in the islands that bears little resemblance to the world encountered by Christopher Columbus. Students explore how we can document these changes using maps and charts, historical documents, commercial records, harbor pilots, species surveys, and the literature of Caribbean people from both the Colonial and post-Colonial periods. SEA Semester: Oceans & Climate - For advanced science students. This program focuses on the importance of the equatorial Pacific to the global carbon cycle, and culminates in a trans-equatorial research cruise from either Mexico to Tahiti or Tahiti to Hawaii. SEA faculty and visiting researchers from across the country engage students in oceanography, ocean policy and the operation a sailing research vessel. www.sea.edu

Too soon to worry? part 2

Not only is Rick still incommunicado, but now Kevin Z. has gone strangely quiet...Should we start organizing a search party yet?

Too soon to worry?

It's been a week since Rick posted anything over at MBSL&S. I'm starting to fear the worst...

Spin it 'round and 'round

Had to steal this post from Dale over at Meming of Life. The hypocrisy revealed here is dumbfounding.