A population has $G$ good and $B$ bad elements, $G+B=N$. Elements are drawn one by one at random without replacement. Suppose the first good element appears on draw number $X$. Find a simple formula, not involving any summation from $1$ to $N$, for $E(X)$. Hint: Write $X-1$ as sum of $B$ indicators.
Ok, so we know in the first $X-1$ draws we only get bad elements. Let $I_j$ be $1$ if $j$th draw gives bad ball and $0$ otherwise. $X-1=I_1+I_2+ \cdots +I_{x-1}$, all of which have value $1$. $E(I_1)= \cdots=E(I_n)=B/N=(N-G)/N$. Now we can write $E(X)=E((X-1)+1)$ $=E(X-1)+E(1)=E(X-1)+1.$ I'm not exactly sure on the formula for $E(X-1)$. Hopefully, I'm on the right track. Thanks!