Problem #PRU-65776

Problems Probability and statistics Probability theory Discrete distribution Algebra and arithmetic Mean values

Problem

At a conference there were 18 scientists, of which exactly 10 know the eye-popping news. During the break (coffee break), all scientists are broken up into random pairs, and in each pair, anyone who knows the news, tells this news to another if he did not already know it.

a) Find the probability that after the coffee break, the number of scientists who know the news will be 13.

b) Find the probability that after the coffee break the number of scientists who know the news will be 14.

c) Denote by the letter \(X\) the number of scientists who know the eye-popping news after the coffee break. Find the mathematical expectation of \(X\).