2.I.3F

Probability | Part IA, 2001

The following problem is known as Bertrand's paradox. A chord has been chosen at random in a circle of radius rr. Find the probability that it is longer than the side of the equilateral triangle inscribed in the circle. Consider three different cases:

a) the middle point of the chord is distributed uniformly inside the circle,

b) the two endpoints of the chord are independent and uniformly distributed over the circumference,

c) the distance between the middle point of the chord and the centre of the circle is uniformly distributed over the interval [0,r][0, r].

[Hint: drawing diagrams may help considerably.]

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