sequential search homework question

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Published on 2010-03-09T03:31:37Z Indexed on 2010/03/09 3:36 UTC
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Consider a disk file containing 100 records a. How many comparisons would be required on the average to find a record using sequential search, if the record is known to be in the file?

I figured out that this is 100/2 = 50.

b. If the record has a 68% probability of being in the file, how many comparisons are required on average?

This is the part I'm having trouble with. At first I thought it was 68% * 50, but then realized that was wrong after thinking about it. Then I thought it was (100% - 68%) * 50, but I still feel that that is wrong. Any hints?

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