On a laundry drying line \(n\) socks hang in a random order (the order in which they got out of the washing machine). Among them there are the two favourite socks of the Scattered Scientist. The socks are covered by a drying sheet, so the Scientist does not see them, and takes out one sock by touch. Find the mathematical expectation of the number of socks taken out by the Scientist by the time he has both of his favourite socks.
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?
In Anchuria, presidential elections are being prepared, in which President Miraflores wants to win. Exactly half of the voters support Miraflores, and the other half support Dick Maloney. Miraflores is also a voter. According to the law, he has the right to divide all of the voters into two constituencies at his own discretion. In each of the districts, the voting is conducted as follows: each voter marks the name of their candidate on the ballot; all ballots are placed in the ballot box. Then one random ballot is chosen from the ballot box, and the one whose name is marked on it will win in this district. The candidate wins the election only if he wins in both districts. If the winner does not appear, the next round of voting is appointed according to the same rules. How should Miraflores divide the electorate in order to maximize the probability of his victory on the first round?
In a terrible thunderstorm, along a rope ladder, \(n\) dwarfs ascend in a chain. If suddenly there is a thunderbolt, then from fear, every gnome, regardless of others, can fall with probability \(p\) (\(0 < p < 1\)). If the dwarf falls, then he also hits all of the dwarfs that are below him. Find:
a) The probability that exactly \(k\) dwarfs will fall.
b) The mathematical expectation of the number of fallen dwarfs.
What is the minimum number of \(1\times 1\) squares that need to be drawn in order to get an image of a \(25\times 25\) square divided into 625 smaller 1x1 squares?
What is the smallest number of cells that can be chosen on a \(15\times15\) board so that a mouse positioned on any cell on the board touches at least two marked cells? (The mouse also touches the cell on which it stands.)
a) There are three identical large vessels. In one there are 3 litres of syrup, in the other – 20 litres of water, and the third is empty. You can pour all the liquid from one vessel into another or into a sink. You can choose two vessels and pour into one of them liquid from the third, until the liquid levels in the selected vessels are equal. How can you get 10 litres of diluted 30% syrup?
b) The same, but there is \(N\) l of water. At what integer values of \(N\) can you get 10 liters of diluted 30% syrup?
Monica is in a broken space buggy at a distance of 18 km from the Lunar base, in which Rachel sits. There is a stable radio communication system between them. The air reserve in the space buggy is enough for 3 hours, in addition, Monica has an air cylinder for the spacesuit, with an air reserve of 1 hour. Rachel has a lot of cylinders with an air supply of 2 hours each. Rachel can not carry more than two cylinders at the same time (one of them she uses herself). The speed of movement on the Moon in the suit is 6 km/h. Could Rachel save Monica and not die herself?
There are 40 identical cords. If you set any cord on fire on one side, it burns, and if you set it alight on the other side, it will not burn. Ahmed arranges the cords in the form of a square (see the figure below, each cord makes up a side of a cell). Then, Helen arranges 12 fuses. Will Ahmed be able to lay out the cords in such a way that Helen will not be able to burn all of them?
301 schoolchildren came to the school’s New Year’s party in the city of Moscow. Some of them always tell the truth, and the rest always lie. Each of some 200 students said: “If I leave the hall, then among the remaining students, the majority will be liars.” Each of the other schoolchildren said: “If I leave the room, then among the remaining students, there will be twice as many liars as those who speak the truth.” How many liars were at the party?