Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2014 / iii / Paper 33 / 4 / g / Solution

For the geometric distribution supported on positive integers, set $q=1-p$. The geometric series and its derivative giveEquivalently, the sum of the tail probabilities is ${\sum }_{k\ge 0}P(T>k)={\sum }_{k\ge 0}{q}^k=1/p$. For $p=0.02$, the expected wait is 50 years, so this is the 50-year return level. The exceedance probability determines the return period, but does not by itself determine a numerical flow rate.