Final answer:
Sean used the relative frequency method by flipping a coin 100 times and using the results to calculate the probability of getting heads as 0.42.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sean used the relative frequency method to conclude that the probability of getting heads on a flip of his coin is 0.42. This method involves conducting an experiment and then calculating the proportion of a certain outcome, which, in this case, is the number of times heads comes up divided by the total number of flips. Relative frequency is based on empirical evidence rather than theoretical calculations or subjective estimations.
The theoretical probability of flipping a heads with a fair coin is always 0.5, but experimental results can deviate, especially with a limited number of trials like 100. As the number of trials increases, as demonstrated by Karl Pearson's experiment with 24,000 coin tosses, the relative frequency tends to approach the theoretical probability, illustrating the law of large numbers.