MediumStatistics
The German Tank Problem
Two SigmaDE Shaw
Tanks are serial-numbered 1, 2, …, N. You capture 4 tanks and the largest serial number observed is 60. Using the standard minimum-variance unbiased estimator, what is your estimate of N?
Approach
The sample maximum underestimates N — by how much on average?
N̂ = m(1 + 1/k) − 1.
Answer
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