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FreeProbabilityMedium

Standing Table I

Asked atAkuna CapitalCitadelFive RingsJane Street

Question

Three legs are attached to a round tabletop at points chosen independently and uniformly at random around its edge. What is the probability that the table stands?

Solution

Try it yourself first. Open a hint if you get stuck.

Hint 1

The table stands exactly when the centre of the tabletop lies inside the triangle formed by the three legs.

Hint 2

Fix the first leg. Measure the second leg by the angle θ\theta between them along the shorter arc. Where can the third leg go?

Show solution

When does it stand? The table's weight acts at the centre OO. It stands exactly when OO is inside the triangle formed by the three legs. (Cases where OO lands exactly on an edge have probability 00.)

Fix the first two legs. Put leg AA anywhere. Measure leg BB by the angle θ\theta from AA along the shorter arc, so 0≤θ≤π0 \le \theta \le \pi. Whether BB is clockwise or anticlockwise of AA doesn't matter by symmetry, so θ\theta is uniform on [0,π][0, \pi].

Where must the third leg go? Let A′A' and B′B' be the points directly opposite AA and BB. The triangle contains OO exactly when leg CC lands on the arc between A′A' and B′B', the one facing the short arc ABAB. If CC lands anywhere else, all three legs fit in one half of the table and OO is outside the triangle. That arc has angle θ\theta, so

P(stands∣θ)=θ2π.P(\text{stands} \mid \theta) = \frac{\theta}{2\pi}.

Legs A and B are an angle θ apart. The arc between their opposite points A′ and B′ also has angle θ, and the table stands when C lands on it.

Average over θ\theta. Since θ\theta is uniform on [0,π][0, \pi],

E[θ]=1π∫0πθ dθ=π2,E[\theta] = \frac{1}{\pi}\int_0^{\pi} \theta \, d\theta = \frac{\pi}{2},

so

P(stands)=E[θ]2π=π/22π=14.P(\text{stands}) = \frac{E[\theta]}{2\pi} = \frac{\pi/2}{2\pi} = \frac{1}{4}.

Answer: 0.250000.25000.

Quick check: the table falls exactly when all three legs fit in some half of the table. For nn random points on a circle that happens with probability n/2n−1n/2^{n-1}, which is 3/43/4 for n=3n = 3. That leaves 1/41/4.