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juliannaq
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Homework Statement
I'm trying to solve the following question: You and n other people (so n+1 people) each toss a probability-p coin, with 0<= P \ <=1. Then each person who got a head will split some arbitrary amount of prize money, K, equally. If nobody gets a head, then nobody gets the prize. Whats the expected prize you receive?
So variables:
N+1 - number of people
P - probability coin lands on heads
K - Prize money
Homework Equations
Relevant equations may be the binomial distribution formula? E(x) (expected value).
The Attempt at a Solution
I think I want to first find the expected number of people who will toss heads. Dividing K by E(#heads) and multiplying by P(the chance of you getting heads, so the chance of you being among the winners). In order to start I came up with the following summation, by looking at the probability of getting various 'K's (i.e. k/1, k/2):
[itex]\sum{\frac{k}{x}(1-p)^{(n+1)-x}p^x}[/itex], with x from 1 to n+1 where n+1 is the number of people.
However, I have no idea how to solve this sum, or even if I'm setting it up correctly (I think I may be missing something?); any tips would be greatly appreciated!
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