perplexus.info :: Probability : Play until you win

Home > Probability

Play until you win (Posted on 2018-06-15)

Consider this game:

You have a 1% chance of winning on the first try. If you win, great!

If you don't, win on the first try, you have a 2% chance of winning on the second try.

If needed you have a 3% chance on the third try and so on until you eventually win.

What is the expected number of tries to win this game?

Submitted by Jer

No Rating

Solution: (Hide)

The numerator is the 100th term of https://oeis.org/A001865
The denominator is 100^99
Quotient is about 12.21

Comments: ( You must be logged in to post comments.)

Subject	Author	Date
Puzzle Answer	K Sengupta	2024-02-26 19:15:46
Unsatisfying computer solution (spoiler)	Charlie	2018-06-15 12:08:54

Please log in:

Login:
Password:
Remember me:

Sign up! \| Forgot password

Search:

Search body:

Forums (0)
Newest Problems
Random Problem
FAQ | About This Site
Site Statistics
New Comments (9)
Unsolved Problems
Top Rated Problems
This month's top
Most Commented On

Chatterbox:


perplexus dot info