← All problems

449.Whisper Down the Lane

★★
markov chainsCh. 2 — Axiomatic and Conditional Probability444+ Problems in Probability
nn people stand in a line. P1P_1 receives a binary message ("yes" or "no") and passes it to P2P_2, who passes it to P3P_3, and so on. Each person independently transmits the message they heard with probability pp and the opposite message with probability 1p1-p, where 0<p<10 < p < 1. Let pnp_n be the probability that PnP_n passes along the original message. Find limnpn\lim_{n \to \infty} p_n.

Sign in to submit an answer and track it toward your stats.

Sign in

Want timed drills, mental math, and a market-making game too? Try the full practice suite →