- #1
Fatimah202
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Homework Statement
An imaginary particle can decay in 0, 1 or 2 particles of the same kind with probabilities 1/4, 1/2 and 1/4, respectively. Beginning with one particle, we denote xi the number of particles in the ith generation. Determine:
a. P(x2 >0)
b. The probability that x1 = 2, given that x2 = 1.
Homework Equations
let say event A : the particle decay to 0 particle P(A)=1/4
event B: the particle decay to 1 particle P(B)=1/2
event C: the particle decay to 2 particles P(C)=1/4
[/B]
the conditional probability :
P(A|B)= P(A∩B) /P(B)
The Attempt at a Solution
For part a:
I am not sure that I understand the question very well .. is it mean by P(x2 >0) the second generation (x2) can decay to 1 or 2 particles .. if yes shall I do this:
P(B∩C) =P(B)×P(C)
=1/2 × 1/4 = 1/8 =13%
For part b:
P(x1|x2) = ?
is it equal to P(B|C) ??please give me a hint .. I need to solve this by hand and then I can compute it
thank you so much :)