62 problems found
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Solution:
A drawer contains \(n\) pairs of socks. The two socks in each pair are indistinguishable, but each pair of socks is a different colour from all the others. A set of \(2k\) socks, where \(k\) is an integer with \(2k \leqslant n\), is selected at random from this drawer: that is, every possible set of \(2k\) socks is equally likely to be selected.
A batch of \(N\) USB sticks is to be used on a network. Each stick has the same unknown probability \(p\) of being infected with a virus. Each stick is infected, or not, independently of the others. The network manager decides on an integer value of \(T\) with \(0 \leqslant T < N\). If \(T = 0\) no testing takes place and the \(N\) sticks are used on the network, but if \(T > 0\), the batch is subject to the following procedure.
A fair coin is tossed \(N\) times and the random variable \(X\) records the number of heads. The mean deviation, \(\delta\), of \(X\) is defined by \[ \delta = \mathrm{E}\big(|X - \mu|\big) \] where \(\mu\) is the mean of \(X\).
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Solution:
The score shown on a biased \(n\)-sided die is represented by the random variable \(X\) which has distribution \(\mathrm{P}(X = i) = \dfrac{1}{n} + \varepsilon_i\) for \(i = 1, 2, \ldots, n\), where not all the \(\varepsilon_i\) are equal to \(0\).
The number of customers arriving at a builders' merchants each day follows a Poisson distribution with mean \(\lambda\). Each customer is offered some free sand. The probability of any given customer taking the free sand is \(p\).
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In a game, I toss a coin repeatedly. The probability, \(p\), that the coin shows Heads on any given toss is given by \[ p= \frac N{N+1} \,, \] where \(N\) is a positive integer. The outcomes of any two tosses are independent. The game has two versions. In each version, I can choose to stop playing after any number of tosses, in which case I win £\(H\), where \(H\) is the number of Heads I have tossed. However, the game may end before that, in which case I win nothing.
Solution:
In a lottery, each of the \(N\) participants pays \(\pounds c\) to the organiser and picks a number from \(1\) to \(N\). The organiser picks at random the winning number from \(1\) to \(N\) and all those participants who picked this number receive an equal share of the prize, \(\pounds J\).
Solution:
Adam and Eve are catching fish. The number of fish, \(X\), that Adam catches in any time interval is Poisson distributed with parameter \(\lambda t\), where \(\lambda\) is a constant and \(t\) is the length of the time interval. The number of fish, \(Y\), that Eve catches in any time interval is Poisson distributed with parameter \(\mu t\), where \(\mu\) is a constant and \(t\) is the length of the time interval The two Poisson variables are independent. You may assume that the expected time between Adam catching a fish and Adam catching his next fish is \(\lambda^{-1}\), and similarly for Eve.
Solution:
In a television game show, a contestant has to open a door using a key. The contestant is given a bag containing \(n\) keys, where \(n\ge2\). Only one key in the bag will open the door. There are three versions of the game. In each version, the contestant starts by choosing a key at random from the bag.
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An internet tester sends \(n\) e-mails simultaneously at time \(t=0\). Their arrival times at their destinations are independent random variables each having probability density function \(\lambda \e^{-\lambda t}\) (\(0\le t<\infty\), \( \lambda >0\)).
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