ProbabilityTree AMC10/12 Basic
2008


Problem - 1606
Jacob uses the following procedure to write down a sequence of numbers. First he chooses the first term to be $6$. To generate each succeeding term, he flips a fair coin. If it comes up heads, he doubles the previous term and subtracts $1$. If it comes up tails, he takes half of the previous term and subtracts $1$. What is the probability that the fourth term in Jacob's sequence is an integer?

Using the probability tree technique, we can find the answer is $\boxed{\frac{5}{8}}$.

report an error