Pairs left in the drawer

A drawer holds 66 distinct pairs of socks (1212 socks). You pull out 88 socks uniformly at random. What is the expected number of complete pairs that remain in the drawer (among the 44 socks left behind)?

Show hints (2)+
  1. 88 drawn leaves 44 behind. Use linearity: E=pairsP(pair fully remains)\mathbb{E}=\sum_{\text{pairs}}\mathbb{P}(\text{pair fully remains}).
  2. A given pair remains iff both its socks are in the 44 left: (102)/(124)=1/11\binom{10}{2}/\binom{12}{4}=1/11; times 66.

Answer

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0.5455 (± 0.001)

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Asked at: Jane Street, SIG

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