A and B toss a coin alternately till one of them gets a head and wins the game. If A starts the game, find the probability that B will win the game.
Given that A and B toss a coin until one of them gets a head to win the game.
Let us find the probability of getting the head.
⇒ P(AH) = P(A getting a head on tossing a coin)
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⇒ P(AN) = P(A not getting head on tossing a coin)
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⇒ P(BH) = P(B getting a head on tossing a coin)
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⇒ P(BN) = P(B not getting head on tossing a coin)
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It is told that A starts the game.
We need to find the probability that B wins the games.
B wins the game only when A losses in1st,3rd,5th,…… tosses.
This can be shown as follows:
⇒ P(WB) = P(B wins the game)
⇒ P(WB) = P(ANBH) + P(ANBNANBH) + P(ANBNANBNANBH) + …………………
Since tossing a coin by each person is an independent event, the probabilities multiply each other.
⇒ P(WB) = (P(AN)P(BH)) + (P(AN)P(BN)P(AN)P(BH)) + ………………
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The terms in the bracket resembles the infinite geometric series sequence:
We know that the sum of a Infinite geometric series with first term ‘a’ and common ratio ‘r’ is
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∴ The required probability is .