Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ia Paper 2 12F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 10F b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 9F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ia Paper 2 9F b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ia Paper 2 10F b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 2 11F iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
For , substitute in the probability generating function. The moment-generating function of isThe domain follows from convergence of the generating series; at or above that positive threshold the expectation diverges, even though a rational continuation can be written.
Conditioning on survival, the probability mass function from part (ii) becomes a positive-integer geometric distribution:Its conditional moment-generating function is , tending to for fixed . We can prove the required limit directly, without invoking a continuity theorem. Set . For every , the strict upper tail is exactlySince and ,At both tails equal one. This is the exponential limit of surviving geometric branching. Conditioning is essential: the unconditional variable has probability of being zero, whereas the rare surviving population has size of order .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 2 4F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
For a nonnegative integer-valued random variable, the probability generating function iswith always allowed. Its derivative at from below gives the expectation when finite.
The waiting time has the positive-integer geometric distribution . For the capped geometric waiting time, exactly when , while occurs whenever . Thus the terminal mass is , givingThe finite sum is a polynomial; any apparent singularity of the rational expression is removable. This includes , where .
Differentiating the rational form at yieldsAs a second interpretation, the expectation is the sum of the tail probabilities for . Their finite geometric sum gives the same answer.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 40 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Condition on . Since the amounts are independent and identically distributed random variables and are independent of , their moment-generating functions multiply:Summing against the positive-support geometric distribution gives the geometric-sum moment-generating functionThe finite-transform domain is and . The terms are nonnegative for real , so if the latter condition fails the sum diverges. For both conditions always hold, since the claims are positive; thus the same calculation always provides the Laplace transform of a nonnegative random variable. Positivity alone does not guarantee a finite moment-generating function on a positive neighbourhood of zero.
There is at least one strictly positive amount in the portfolio. Hence ; zero carries no atom of a measure to add to the continuous laws in the next two parts.