Let X denote the number of empty bins when 50 balls are thrown independently into 30 bins (randomly). What is the expectation of X? Solution Define Xi = 1 if the i-th bin is empty and 0 othewise. E[Xi] = 1*P(Xi = 1) = (1 - 1/30)^50 Therefore: E[X] = sum E[Xi] (0 <= i <= 30) = 30*(1 - 1/30)^50 which is approximately equal to 5.5.