Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T14:24:50.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Counting and the reflection principle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2016

Ray Hill
Ray Hill*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Salford, Salford M5 4WT
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

In her Gazette article on “Roll-a-penny probabilities”, Ann Hirst sets out to find the probability that a player will lose after a certain number of rolls. She considers only the simplest case where the player starts with one penny, and solves the problem by setting up a recurrence relation and using induction. The problem of what happens if the player starts with more than one penny is left for the further consideration of the reader.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Mathematical Gazette , Volume 75 , Issue 473 , October 1991 , pp. 308 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © The Mathematical Association 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Cohen, D.I.A., Basic Techniques of Combinatorial Theory, John Wiley and Sons, New York (1978).Google Scholar
2. Grimaldi, R.P., Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics, 2nd edition, Addison Wesley (1989).Google Scholar
3. Hirst, A., Roll-a-penny probabilities, Math. Gaz. 73, 101–106 (1989).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Honsberger, R., Mathematical Gems III, The Mathematical Association of America (1985).CrossRefGoogle Scholar