When trials are repeated independently, the number of trials until just before the event of interest first occurs is , and if is the probability of the event of interest occurring, The probability of the event of interest st time is
One way to find the expected value is to use a generating function.
Discrete case
Let . Then . Thus for,, . Therefore, the expectation can be found if is found.
Continuous case
Let
. Then express by the power series. Then
Hypergeometric distribution There are white balls and black balls in the jar. Let be the number of white balls when taking out balls one by one without undoing (non-restoration extraction). The probability that the number of white balls is is given by
Let
. Then find
(b) Let be the numbr of games to play to win the first time. Then .Thus the number of games to play to win the first time is
(c) If is the number of winning lottery, . Therefore, if you draw 3 lots, the probability of winning 2 of them is