Problem 53004. Collect a set of candy wrappers

Created by ChrisR

Solve Later

{"parts":[{"partUri":"/matlab/document.xml","contentType":"application/vnd.mathworks.matlab.code.document+xml","content":"<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?><w:document xmlns:w=\"http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main\"><w:body><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>This past Halloween, the siblings Matilda and Labrun amused (and sometimes confused) </w:t></w:r><w:hyperlink w:docLocation=\"https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/cody/problems/51251\"><w:r><w:rPr><w:u/></w:rPr><w:t>their many neighbors</w:t></w:r></w:hyperlink><w:r><w:t> with their costumes inspired by “</w:t></w:r><w:hyperlink w:docLocation=\"https://www.spoon-tamago.com/2021/11/01/japan-jimi-mundane-halloween-2021/\"><w:r><w:rPr><w:u/></w:rPr><w:t>mundane Halloween</w:t></w:r></w:hyperlink><w:r><w:t>”, a Japanese tradition started in 2014. As they sifted through and sampled the candy they collected, they noticed something odd as they opened one type of candy, an Oh Leonhard! bar:</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>“This wrapper has a proof of the infinitude of primes!”, said Matilda.</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>“I got that one too,” said Labrun. “And here’s one with the Twin Prime Conjecture!”</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>“Here’s the Pythagorean Theorem. And this one has the Riemann hypothesis.”</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>The precocious pair determined that these wrappers were part of the Oh Leonhard! “Great Theorems and Unsolved Problems” promotion. In this promotion, wrappers with one of forty theorems, conjectures, or other famous math problems were distributed evenly among all of the Oh Leonhard! Bars produces. Anyone who collected all wrappers in the set would get a copy of the</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:rPr><w:i/></w:rPr><w:t> Handbook of Mathematical Functions</w:t></w:r><w:r><w:t> by Abramowitz and Stegun. </w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>Matilda and Labrun computed that, on average, they would have to open 172 wrappers to complete a set and win the prize. Their calculation accounted for the contest’s rule that all pieces of the wrapper had to be submitted—that is, no fractional wrappers were allowed.</w:t></w:r></w:p><w:p><w:pPr><w:pStyle w:val=\"text\"/><w:jc w:val=\"left\"/></w:pPr><w:r><w:t>Write a function that takes the number of wrappers in a set and compute the expected number of wrappers that would need to be opened to collect the set.</w:t></w:r></w:p></w:body></w:document>","relationship":null}],"relationships":[{"relationshipType":"http://schemas.mathworks.com/matlab/code/2013/relationships/document","target":"/matlab/document.xml","relationshipId":"rId1"}]}

<div style = "text-align: start; line-height: 20.4333px; min-height: 0px; white-space: normal; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, monospace; font-style: normal; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: rgb(0, 0, 0); white-space: normal; "><div style="block-size: 369px; display: block; min-width: 0px; padding-block-start: 0px; padding-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 407px 184.5px; transform-origin: 407px 184.5px; vertical-align: baseline; "><div style="block-size: 63px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 31.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 31.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 276.975px 8.05px; transform-origin: 276.975px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">This past Halloween, the siblings Matilda and Labrun amused (and sometimes confused) </span></span><a target='_blank' href = "https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/cody/problems/51251"><span style=""><span style="text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-line: underline; ">their many neighbors</span></span></a><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 31.8917px 8.05px; transform-origin: 31.8917px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style=""> with their costumes inspired by “</span></span><a target='_blank' href = "https://www.spoon-tamago.com/2021/11/01/japan-jimi-mundane-halloween-2021/"><span style=""><span style="text-decoration: underline; text-decoration-line: underline; ">mundane Halloween</span></span></a><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 244.658px 8.05px; transform-origin: 244.658px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">”, a Japanese tradition started in 2014. As they sifted through and sampled the candy they collected, they noticed something odd as they opened one type of candy, an Oh Leonhard! bar:</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 207.317px 8.05px; transform-origin: 207.317px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">“This wrapper has a proof of the infinitude of primes!”, said Matilda.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 253.475px 8.05px; transform-origin: 253.475px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">“I got that one too,” said Labrun. “And here’s one with the Twin Prime Conjecture!”</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 21px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 10.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 10.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 242.983px 8.05px; transform-origin: 242.983px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">“Here’s the Pythagorean Theorem. And this one has the Riemann hypothesis.”</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 84px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 42px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 42px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 359.025px 8.05px; transform-origin: 359.025px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">The precocious pair determined that these wrappers were part of the Oh Leonhard! “Great Theorems and Unsolved Problems” promotion. In this promotion, wrappers with one of forty theorems, conjectures, or other famous math problems were distributed evenly among all of the Oh Leonhard! Bars produces. Anyone who collected all wrappers in the set would get a copy of the</span></span><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 117.475px 8.05px; transform-origin: 117.475px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="font-style: italic; "> Handbook of Mathematical Functions</span></span><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 89.4583px 8.05px; transform-origin: 89.4583px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style=""> by Abramowitz and Stegun. </span></span></div><div style="block-size: 63px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 31.5px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 31.5px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 383.15px 8.05px; transform-origin: 383.15px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Matilda and Labrun computed that, on average, they would have to open 172 wrappers to complete a set and win the prize. Their calculation accounted for the contest’s rule that all pieces of the wrapper had to be submitted—that is, no fractional wrappers were allowed.</span></span></div><div style="block-size: 42px; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 21px; margin-block-end: 9px; margin-block-start: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-inline-end: 10px; margin-inline-start: 4px; margin-left: 4px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; perspective-origin: 384px 21px; text-align: left; transform-origin: 384px 21px; white-space: pre-wrap; margin-left: 4px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 9px; margin-right: 10px; "><span style="block-size: auto; display: inline; margin-block-end: 0px; margin-block-start: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-inline-end: 0px; margin-inline-start: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; perspective-origin: 383px 8.05px; transform-origin: 383px 8.05px; unicode-bidi: normal; "><span style="">Write a function that takes the number of wrappers in a set and compute the expected number of wrappers that would need to be opened to collect the set.</span></span></div></div></div>

This past Halloween, the siblings Matilda and Labrun amused (and sometimes confused) their many neighbors with their costumes inspired by “mundane Halloween”, a Japanese tradition started in 2014. As they sifted through and sampled the candy they collected, they noticed something odd as they opened one type of candy, an Oh Leonhard! bar:
“This wrapper has a proof of the infinitude of primes!”, said Matilda.
“I got that one too,” said Labrun. “And here’s one with the Twin Prime Conjecture!”
“Here’s the Pythagorean Theorem. And this one has the Riemann hypothesis.”
The precocious pair determined that these wrappers were part of the Oh Leonhard! “Great Theorems and Unsolved Problems” promotion. In this promotion, wrappers with one of forty theorems, conjectures, or other famous math problems were distributed evenly among all of the Oh Leonhard! Bars produces. Anyone who collected all wrappers in the set would get a copy of the Handbook of Mathematical Functions by Abramowitz and Stegun. 
Matilda and Labrun computed that, on average, they would have to open 172 wrappers to complete a set and win the prize. Their calculation accounted for the contest’s rule that all pieces of the wrapper had to be submitted—that is, no fractional wrappers were allowed.
Write a function that takes the number of wrappers in a set and compute the expected number of wrappers that would need to be opened to collect the set.

Solve

Solution Stats

6 Solutions
3 Solvers

Last Solution submitted on Mar 14, 2022

Last 200 Solutions

Problem Comments

Problem Recent Solvers3

Problem Tags

Community Treasure Hunt

Find the treasures in MATLAB Central and discover how the community can help you!

Start Hunting!

Problem 53004. Collect a set of candy wrappers

Solution Stats

Last 200 Solutions

Problem Comments

Problem Recent Solvers3

Suggested Problems

More from this Author190

Problem Tags

Community Treasure Hunt

Problem 53004. Collect a set of candy wrappers

Solution Stats

Last 200 Solutions

Problem Comments

Problem Recent Solvers3

Suggested Problems

More from this Author190

Problem Tags

Community Treasure Hunt

Players