Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-year-1-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/discrete-mathematics-continuous-mathematics-and-probability/8/b/i/solution
Past exam of the year 1 of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2019 Discrete mathematics, continuous mathematics, and probability 8 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
This is a Galton-Watson process with offspring count with probability and with probability . The descendants of distinct initial individuals evolve independently, sofor every finite initial size . Conditioning on the first individual's outcome and applying the law of total probability givesThe equation factors asIts roots are and . Since , the second root exceeds one and cannot be a probability. Therefore and for every finite initial size. The population reaches the absorbing state zero almost surely; no choice between two admissible fixed-point probabilities remains in this subcritical case.
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