Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-1-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/paper-2/11/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2014 Paper 2 11 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Use the usual model of independent games, each with Sheila-win probability . After games, an outcome with wins and losses has possible orders. Since both totals are below eleven, none of those sequences has already ended the match. ThusFor a completed Sheila win with losses, the last game must be her eleventh win. The preceding games contain ten wins and losses, so their probability is , followed by one further factor . The allowed loss counts are , and these terminal events are disjoint. HenceThis is the match win probability with a fixed winning score, obtained by the negative binomial stopping argument. Constant marginal game-win probabilities alone would not justify the product without the usual independence assumption.
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