Annie~
08-19-2005, 12:32 PM
A fair coin is tossed 6 times. what is the probability that exactly 2 heads will show?
The answer is 15/64.
Does anyone know where they get 64 from?
The answer is 15/64.
Does anyone know where they get 64 from?
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View Full Version : A math question Annie~ 08-19-2005, 12:32 PM A fair coin is tossed 6 times. what is the probability that exactly 2 heads will show? The answer is 15/64. Does anyone know where they get 64 from? isd121 08-19-2005, 01:11 PM P(2 heads) = C(6,2) (1/2)^2 (1/2)^4 = 15/64 This is an example of binomial probability. For explanation check this website http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/56189.html :) A fair coin is tossed 6 times. what is the probability that exactly 2 heads will show? The answer is 15/64. Does anyone know where they get 64 from? sgdorfl90 08-19-2005, 01:14 PM A fair coin is tossed 6 times. what is the probability that exactly 2 heads will show? The answer is 15/64. Does anyone know where they get 64 from? ok...a very simple way of doing it...there are 6 ways of getting the first head....it could be in any 6 tosses, and then once u have 1 head...there are 5 ways of getting second head, cuz one has been taken care of. But within it, order doesn't matter...so we do 6*5/2=15. Now, there is 1/2 of getting 1 head, and same for second, but we have to account for 4 tails which has equal prob. So, its (1/2)^6= 1/64*15 ways= 15/64 Annie~ 08-19-2005, 10:19 PM Thanx for the help. fob12 08-28-2005, 07:38 PM ok...a very simple way of doing it...there are 6 ways of getting the first head....it could be in any 6 tosses, and then once u have 1 head...there are 5 ways of getting second head, cuz one has been taken care of. But within it, order doesn't matter...so we do 6*5/2=15. Now, there is 1/2 of getting 1 head, and same for second, but we have to account for 4 tails which has equal prob. So, its (1/2)^6= 1/64*15 ways= 15/64 matter...so we do 6*5/2=15. Does anyone know why do you divide 6*5 by 2? |