Question
upstudy study bank question image url

You purchase boxes of cereal until you obtain one with the collector's toy you want. If, on average, you get the toy you want in every 67 th cereal box, what is the probability of getting the toy you want in any given cereal box? (Round your answer to 3 decimal places.)

Ask by Best Reed. in the United States
Feb 03,2025

Real Tutor Solution

Tutor-Verified Answer

Answer

The probability of getting the desired toy in any given cereal box is 0.015.

Solution

To determine the probability \( p \) of getting the desired collector's toy in any given cereal box, we can use the concept of the expected value in probability. **Given:** - On average, you obtain the desired toy every 67 boxes. - This means the expected number of trials (boxes) to get one success (desired toy) is 67. The relationship between the expected value \( E[X] \) and the probability \( p \) in a geometric distribution is: \[ E[X] = \frac{1}{p} \] Given \( E[X] = 67 \), we can solve for \( p \): \[ p = \frac{1}{67} \approx 0.014925373134 \] Rounding this to three decimal places: \[ p \approx 0.015 \] **Answer:** The probability is 0.015.

Reviewed and approved by the UpStudy tutoring team

error msg
Explain
Simplify this solution

Mind Expander

To find the probability of getting the toy you want in any given cereal box, you can use the formula for probability, which is the number of successful outcomes over the total number of possible outcomes. In this case, the successful outcome is getting the toy (1 success), and the total outcomes are the average number of boxes you need to purchase to get it (67). Therefore, the probability \( P \) is: \[ P = \frac{1}{67} \approx 0.014925 \text{ (rounded to three decimal places: 0.015)} \] So, the probability of getting the collector's toy you want in any given cereal box is approximately **0.015**. Now, to spice it up with some extra info! In a sense, this situation resembles a "collector's item" problem that tickles the fancy of both mathematicians and everyday people alike! It’s often seen in various fields, including marketing strategies where businesses want to encourage consumers to buy more—a brilliant marketing ploy that plays on our desire to collect! For those looking to dive deeper, take a peek into the world of the "Coupon Collector's Problem" in probability theory! It explores scenarios similar to yours—how many cereal boxes (or "coupons") one needs to collect a complete set. It's a fascinating subject how these seemingly simple problems can lead to intricate theories in statistics!

Try Premium now!
Try Premium and ask Thoth AI unlimited math questions now!
Maybe later Go Premium
Study can be a real struggle
Why not UpStudy it?
Select your plan below
Premium

You can enjoy

Start now
  • Step-by-step explanations
  • 24/7 expert live tutors
  • Unlimited number of questions
  • No interruptions
  • Full access to Answer and Solution
  • Full Access to PDF Chat, UpStudy Chat, Browsing Chat
Basic

Totally free but limited

  • Limited Solution
Welcome to UpStudy!
Please sign in to continue the Thoth AI Chat journey
Continue with Email
Or continue with
By clicking “Sign in”, you agree to our Terms of Use & Privacy Policy