Problem
The Problem
You have noodles in a bowl. You reach in, pick two free ends uniformly at random, and tie them together. Repeat until no free ends remain.
What is the expected number of loops you end up with?
You have noodles in a bowl. You reach in, pick two free ends uniformly at random, and tie them together. Repeat until no free ends remain.
What is the expected number of loops you end up with?