Problem:
Aerith rolls a fair die until she gets a roll that is greater than or equal to her previous roll. Find the expected number of times she will roll the die before stopping.
Problem:
Aerith rolls a fair die until she gets a roll that is greater than or equal to her previous roll. Find the expected number of times she will roll the die before stopping.
Solution:
The number of rolls is always at least and at most . For there to be at least rolls, the first rolls have to be distinct and in decreasing order. The number of ways this can happen is , and the total number of ways to have rolls is . Thus, the expected value is
By the binomial theorem, this is .