# Problem #2138

 2138 Each face of a cube is painted either red or blue, each with probability $1/2$. The color of each face is determined independently. What is the probability that the painted cube can be placed on a horizontal surface so that the four vertical faces are all the same color? $\mathrm{(A) \ } \frac{1}{4} \qquad \mathrm{(B) \ } \frac{5}{16} \qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } \frac{3}{8} \qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } \frac{7}{16} \qquad \mathrm{(E) \ } \frac{1}{2}$ This problem is copyrighted by the American Mathematics Competitions.
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