MathDB
IMO LongList 1987 - Runs of a decimal number

Source:

September 6, 2010
algebra proposedalgebra

Problem Statement

The runs of a decimal number are its increasing or decreasing blocks of digits. Thus 024379024379 has three runs : 024,43024, 43, and 379379. Determine the average number of runs for a decimal number in the set {d1d2dndkdk+1,k=1,2,,n1}\{d_1d_2 \cdots d_n | d_k \neq d_{k+1}, k = 1, 2,\cdots, n - 1\}, where n2.n \geq 2.