Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/ia/paper-2/11f/c/solution

Summing the geometric series for the offspring probability generating function gives
The fixed-point equation is , whose only root in is one. The Galton-Watson extinction fixed point result therefore proves extinction is certain.
For the explicit iterates, the proposed formula at is , so the base case holds. If it holds at , part (a) gives
This is exactly the same formula with replaced by . By induction,
Evaluating the probability generating function at zero selects the mass of an empty generation:
These probabilities increase to one, also confirming the extinction conclusion directly.

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