2019 AIME II Problems/Problem 2

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Problem 2

Lily pads $1,2,3,\ldots$ lie in a row on a pond. A frog makes a sequence of jumps starting on pad $1$. From any pad $k$ the frog jumps to either pad $k+1$ or pad $k+2$ chosen randomly with probability $\tfrac{1}{2}$ and independently of other jumps. The probability that the frog visits pad $7$ is $\tfrac{p}{q}$, where $p$ and $q$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $p+q$.

Solution

Let $P_n$ be the probability the frog visits pad $7$ starting from pad $n$. Then $P_7 = 1$, $P_6 = \frac12$, and $P_n = \frac12(P_{n + 1} + P_{n + 2})$ for all integers $1 \leq n \leq 5$. Working our way down, we find \[P_5 = \frac{3}{4}\] \[P_4 = \frac{5}{8}\] \[P_3 = \frac{11}{16}\] \[P_2 = \frac{21}{32}\] \[P_1 = \frac{43}{64}\] $43 + 64 = \boxed{107}$.

Solution 2(Casework)

Define a one jump to be a jump from k to K + 1 and a two jump to be a jump from k to k + 2.

Case 1: (6 one jumps) (1/2)^6 = 1/64

Case 2: (4 one jumps and 1 two jumps) 5C1 x (1/2)^5 = 5/32

Case 3: (2 one jumps and 2 two jumps) 4C2 x (1/2)^4 = 3/8

Case 4: (3 two jumps) (1/2)^3 = 1/8

Summing the probabilities gives us 43/64 so the answer is \boxed{107}.

See Also

2019 AIME II (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 1
Followed by
Problem 3
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All AIME Problems and Solutions

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