Suppose I have 50 strings. At every step, I randomly pick 2 ends of strings (they could be the ends of the same string) and tie them together. At each step, I could make either a longer string or a loop. a) What is the expected number of steps it takes me to turn all the strings into loops? b) What is the expected number of loops? (Express this as a sum)

Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7th Edition)
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ISBN:9780133594140
Author:James Kurose, Keith Ross
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Chapter1: Computer Networks And The Internet
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Problem R1RQ: What is the difference between a host and an end system? List several different types of end...
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Suppose I have 50 strings. At every step, I randomly pick 2 ends of strings
(they could be the ends of the same string) and tie them together. At each step, I could
make either a longer string or a loop.
a) What is the expected number of steps it takes me to turn all the strings into loops?
b) What is the expected number of loops? (Express this as a sum)

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