Paper 2, Section II, F
Part IA, 2010
(a) What does it mean to say that a random variable with values has a geometric distribution with a parameter where ?
An expedition is sent to the Himalayas with the objective of catching a pair of wild yaks for breeding. Assume yaks are loners and roam about the Himalayas at random. The probability that a given trapped yak is male is independent of prior outcomes. Let be the number of yaks that must be caught until a breeding pair is obtained. (b) Find the expected value of . (c) Find the variance of .