quasi
Posts:
9,094
Registered:
7/15/05
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Re: Probability Pill
Posted:
Dec 27, 2012 6:12 AM
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quasi wrote:
>quasi wrote:
>>William Elliot wrote:
>>
>>>Each day I take 1/2 an aspirin tablet. I bought a bottle of
>>>100 tablets; each day I take out one, if it's whole I break
>>>it half and eat a half and put the other half back: if I pull
>>>out a half tablet I eat it. I was wondering after I break the
>>>last whole one what the expected number of halves are in the
>>>bottle? I assume that any piece I pull out has uniform
>>>probability.
>>
>>I suspect that the above question is not actually yours.
>>
>>If that's the case, what is the actual source?
>>
>>Is it from a poster in another forum? If so, why do you omit
>>mention of the poster and the forum?
>>
>>Is it from a book or math contest?
>>
>>Why do you repeatedly post questions that are not your own
>>without giving credit to the source?
>>
>>In any case, the expected number of halves left when the last
>>whole pill is split is
>>
>> (199!) / ((4^99)*((99!)^2))
>
>Which is slightly more than 11 half pills.
Oops -- ignore my answer -- it's blatantly wrong.
I'll rethink it.
In the meantime, can you identify the source of the
problem?
quasi
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