Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ia/paper-2/9f/a/solution

The binomial theorem makes the sum of the proposed probability mass function equal to ; every term is nonnegative. Realize the associated binomial distribution as , where the are independent variables with the Bernoulli distribution of parameter . Each has expected value and variance . Linearity of expectation and variance additivity for independent random variables yield
At or this is a constant random variable; the same formulas apply, with the endpoint mass understood by continuity.

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