Year: 1991
Paper: 2
Question Number: 15
Course: LFM Stats And Pure
Section: Uniform Distribution
No solution available for this problem.
Difficulty Rating: 1600.0
Difficulty Comparisons: 0
Banger Rating: 1484.0
Banger Comparisons: 1
Integers $n_{1},n_{2},\ldots,n_{r}$ (possibly the same) are chosen
independently at random from the integers $1,2,3,\ldots,m$. Show
that the probability that $\left|n_{1}-n_{2}\right|=k$, where $1\leqslant k\leqslant m-1$,
is $2(m-k)/m^{2}$ and show that the expectation of $\left|n_{1}-n_{2}\right|$
is $(m^{2}-1)/(3m)$. Verify, for the case $m=2$, the result that
the expection of $\left|n_{1}-n_{2}\right|+\left|n_{2}-n_{3}\right|$
is $2(m^{2}-1)/(3m).$ Write down the expectation, for general $m$,
of
\[
\left|n_{1}-n_{2}\right|+\left|n_{2}-n_{3}\right|+\cdots+\left|n_{r-1}-n_{r}\right|.
\]
Desks in an examination hall are placed a distance $d$ apart in straight
lines. Each invigilator looks after one line of $m$ desks. When called
by a candidate, the invigilator walks to that candidate's desk, and
stays there until called again. He or she is equally likely to be
called by any of the $m$ candidates in the line but candidates never
call simultaneously or while the invigilator is attending to another
call. At the beginning of the examination the invigilator stands by
the first desk. Show that the expected distance walked by the invigilator
in dealing with $N+1$ calls is
\[
\frac{d(m-1)}{6m}[2N(m+1)+3m].
\]