Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/ia/paper-2/12f/solution

An exponential distribution of rate has density for and zero for , with survival probability . For , its memoryless property follows from
For the minimum, independence gives . Hence
The density is zero for negative . The comparison probability follows from identical continuous laws and zero tie probability; directly it is . These are competing exponential clocks.
For the last density, substitute into the normalizing integral to obtain , the Gaussian integral. Equivalently, each variable has a gamma distribution with shape and rate one. Independence permits convolution of the densities. For ,
Putting turns the integral into . Consequently
This is also the additivity of independent gamma distributions with a common rate: their shapes add to one. Density values at the single endpoint zero are immaterial.

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