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Weird Walk (Posted on 2009-01-17) Difficulty: 3 of 5
Jorge has lost his car keys! He's not using a very efficient search; in fact, he's doing a random walk. He starts at 0, and moves 1 unit to the left or right, with equal probability. On the next step, he moves 2 units to the left or right, again with equal probability. For subsequent turns he follows the pattern 1, 2, 1, 2 etc.

His keys, in truth, were right under his nose at point 0. Assuming that he'll spot them the next time he sees them, what is the probability that Jorge will eventually return to 0?

Note: For purposes of the problem, assume that Jorge is not looking while he is merely passing through a point. For example, he will not look for his keys while he passes through 0.

  Submitted by K Sengupta    
Rating: 4.6667 (3 votes)
Solution: (Hide)
Refer to the solution submitted by Charlie in this location.

Comments: ( You must be logged in to post comments.)
  Subject Author Date
Solutionre: solution and explorationCharlie2009-01-18 13:24:31
re: huh?Charlie2009-01-18 13:06:45
huh?Steve Herman2009-01-18 00:22:45
Solutionsolution and explorationCharlie2009-01-17 16:39:01
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