What is the expected value of a particle's position after n jumps?

uva123
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Homework Statement



Suppose that a particle starts at the origin of the real line and moves along the line in
jumps of one unit. For each jump, the probability is p that the particle will jump one unit to the left and the probability is (1-p) that the particle will jump one unit to the right.
Find the expected value of the position of the particle after n jumps.


Homework Equations



E(x)=\sumf(x)xdx from -infinity to +infinity (continuous case)
E(x)=\sumf(x)x for all x (discrete case)

The Attempt at a Solution



p(0<p<1) =>jumps one unit left
q=(1-p) =>jumps one unit right
 
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Well seeing how there are only two outcomes with n trials, how are the positions of the particle distributed?
 
im really not sure.
 
uva123 said:
im really not sure.

Which distributions do you know?
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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