Problem #PRU-65345

Problems Methods Examples and counterexamples. Constructive proofs Discrete Mathematics Combinatorics Integer lattices Integer lattices (other) Probability and statistics Probability theory Probability theory (other)
 13–16  3.0

Problem

An ant goes out of the origin along a line and makes a steps of one unit to the right, b steps of one unit to the left in some order, where a>b. The wandering span of the ant is the difference between the largest and smallest coordinates of the ant for the entire length of its journey.

a) Find the largest possible wandering range.

b) Find the smallest possible range.

c) How many different sequences of motion of the ant are there, where the wandering range is the greatest possible?