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Question: Answered & Verified by Expert
An unbiased coin is tossed 5 times. Suppose that a variable X is assigned the value k when k consecutive heads are obtained for k=3,4,5, otherwise X takes the value -1. Then the expected value of X, is
MathematicsProbabilityJEE MainJEE Main 2020 (07 Jan Shift 1)
Options:
  • A 316
  • B 18
  • C -316
  • D -18
Solution:
2418 Upvotes Verified Answer
The correct answer is: 18

 If k represents the number of consecutive heads and Pk is the corresponding probability while an unbiased coin is tossed 5 times, then

k 0 1 2 3 4 5
Pk 125 1225 1125 525 225 125

Now, the expected value of variable X is

-1125+-11225+-11125+3525+4225+5125

=125-1-12-11+15+8+5

=28-2425=425=123=18

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