Final answer:
The question involves High School level Mathematics, focusing on the probability of collecting all unique prizes from cereal boxes. The expected number of boxes purchased to obtain all prizes involves an understanding of inverse probabilities and expected value.
Step-by-step explanation:
The subject of this question is Mathematics, particularly focusing on the field of probability and statistics. The grade level is most likely High School as it involves understanding of probability distributions and experimental simulations which are typically covered at this educational stage.
To answer Vera's question regarding the number of cereal boxes she should expect to buy to get all 4 prizes, we know that each has a probability of 1/4. Since the prizes are evenly distributed, the number of boxes she needs to purchase is not simply 4 (1 for each prize) because it is possible to receive duplicate prizes before collecting all four unique ones. This problem can be addressed utilizing concepts of expected value and probability.
Unfortunately, without Vera's simulation results, we can't provide the exact expected number. However, we can establish a conceptual approach: the first prize has a 100% chance of being new, the second has a 3/4 chance of being new (since one prize is already obtained), the third a 1/2 chance, and the fourth a 1/4 chance. The expected number of trials to obtain each subsequent unique prize can be considered as the sum of the inverse probabilities (1 + 4/3 + 2 + 4), which can provide an estimate for the expected number of boxes.