40.0k views
5 votes
Flip a fair coin until you get heads for the first time. What is the expected number of times you flipped tails?

1 Answer

5 votes

Final answer:

The expected number of times you flip tails until you get heads for the first time is 2.

Step-by-step explanation:

The expected number of times you flip tails until you get heads for the first time can be found using the concept of geometric probability. In this case, the probability of flipping tails on any given flip is 1/2, since the coin is fair. The expected number of flips can be calculated using the formula for the expected value of a geometric distribution:

E(X) = 1 / p

where p is the probability of success (in this case, getting heads) on each individual flip. Therefore, the expected number of times you flip tails is 1 / (1/2) = 2.

User Doc Holiday
by
7.2k points