Maths Puzzle :: Discussion
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Misogynist country
In a country in which people only want boys, every family continues to have children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child. If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the country?
Explanation :
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Following is the required calculation:
Expected Number of boys for 1 family = 1*(Probability of 1 boy) + 1*(Probability of 1 girl and a boy) + 1*(Probability of 2 girls and a boy) + …
For C couples = 1*(C*1/2) + 1*(C*1/2*1/2) + 1*(C*1/2*1/2*1/2) + …
Expected Number of boys = C/2 + C/4 + C/8 + C/16 + …
Expected Number of boys = C
Expected Number of girls for 1 family = 0*(Probability of 0 girls) + 1*(Probability of 1 girl and a boy) + 2*(Probability of 2 girls and a boy) + …
For C couples = 0*(C*1/2) + 1*(C*1/2*1/2) + 2*(C*1/2*1/2*1/2) + …
Expected Number of girls = 0 + C/4 + 2*C/8 + 3*C/16 + …
Expected Number of girls = C
Therefore, the proportion is C/C = 1:1