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Printsmc
counting and probability senior
Problem
How many sequences of s and s of length are there that begin with a , end with a , contain no two consecutive s, and contain no three consecutive s?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Let be the number of valid sequences of length (satisfying the conditions given in the problem). We know our valid sequence must end in a . Then, since we cannot have two consecutive s, it must end in a . Now, we only have two cases: it ends with , or it ends with which is equivalent to . Thus, our sequence must be of the forms or . In the first case, the first digits are equivalent to a valid sequence of length . In the second, the first digits are equivalent to a valid sequence of length . Therefore, it must be the case that , with (because otherwise, the sequence would contain only 0s and this is not allowed due to the given conditions). It is easy to find since the only possible valid sequence is . since the only possible valid sequence is . since the only possible valid sequence is . The recursive sequence is then as follows: So, our answer is .
Final answer
C