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You flip a fair coin 10 times. What is the probability that it lands on heads exactly 4 times?

The probability of exactly 4 heads is

.

What is the probability that it lands on heads at least 4 times?

The probability of at least 4 heads is

User Joepol
by
7.3k points

1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

4 heads

Explanation:

(X=k)=(

k

n

)⋅p

k

⋅(1−p)

n−k

In this case,

=

10

n=10,

=

4

k=4, and

=

0.5

p=0.5 because the coin is fair.

Probability of exactly 4 heads:

(

=

4

)

=

(

10

4

)

(

0.5

)

4

(

0.5

)

10

4

P(X=4)=(

4

10

)⋅(0.5)

4

⋅(0.5)

10−4

Now, calculate this probability:

(

=

4

)

=

(

10

4

)

(

0.5

)

4

(

0.5

)

6

P(X=4)=(

4

10

)⋅(0.5)

4

⋅(0.5)

6

You can calculate

(

10

4

)

(

4

10

) as 210.

So,

(

=

4

)

=

210

(

0.5

)

4

(

0.5

)

6

P(X=4)=210⋅(0.5)

4

⋅(0.5)

6

Simplify,

(

=

4

)

=

210

0.0625

0.015625

P(X=4)=210⋅0.0625⋅0.015625

Now, calculate the product:

(

=

4

)

=

0.20508

P(X=4)=0.20508

So, the probability of getting exactly 4 heads is approximately 0.2051.

Probability of at least 4 heads:

To find the probability of getting at least 4 heads, you need to consider all possibilities of getting 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 heads and sum up their probabilities.

(

4

)

=

(

=

4

)

+

(

=

5

)

+

(

=

6

)

+

(

=

7

)

+

(

=

8

)

+

(

=

9

)

+

(

=

10

)

P(X≥4)=P(X=4)+P(X=5)+P(X=6)+P(X=7)+P(X=8)+P(X=9)+P(X=10)

You've already calculated

(

=

4

)

P(X=4) in the previous part. Now, you can calculate the probabilities for

(

=

5

)

P(X=5),

(

=

6

)

P(X=6),

(

=

7

)

P(X=7),

(

=

8

)

P(X=8),

(

=

9

)

P(X=9), and

(

=

10

)

P(X=10) using the same formula as before, changing

k accordingly.

Sum up these probabilities to find

(

4

)

P(X≥4).

Remember that in each case,

=

0.5

p=0.5 and

=

10

n=10.

Once you've calculated and summed up these probabilities, you will get the probability of getting at least 4 heads.

User Ivanicus
by
7.2k points