Question

Each week, Mrs. Stafford picks a runner from her homeroom to run errands. In order to remain unbiased in her selection, she flips a coin to determine if the runner will be a boy or a girl. She assigns heads to girls and tails to boys.

Based on this procedure, what is the probability of selecting a boy?

a. 3/4
b. 1/2
c. 1/4
d. 2/3

Answer 1

The probability of selecting a boy when Mrs. Stafford flips a fair coin is 1/2, as there is an equal chance of getting either heads or tails on a single coin flip.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks what the probability of selecting a boy is when Mrs. Stafford flips a coin and assigns heads to girls and tails to boys. A fair coin has two sides, heads, and tails, each with an equal chance of landing face up when the coin is flipped. This means there is a 50% chance, or a probability of 1/2, of either outcome.

Therefore, the probability of selecting a boy (tails) is 1/2 since there are only two outcomes and the coin is fair. This corresponds to choice (b).