Q. If a fair coin is tossed 4 times, what is the probability, rounded to the nearest thousandth, of getting at least 3 tails?Answer:
Calculate Probabilities: To solve this problem, we need to calculate the probability of getting exactly 3 tails and the probability of getting exactly 4 tails, then add these probabilities together.
Binomial Probability Formula: The probability of getting exactly 3 tails can be calculated using the binomial probability formula, which is P(X=k)=(kn)⋅pk⋅(1−p)n−k, where n is the number of trials, k is the number of successes, p is the probability of success on a single trial, and (kn) is the binomial coefficient.
Probability of 3 Tails: For exactly 3 tails, n=4, k=3, and p=0.5 (since the coin is fair). The binomial coefficient (3)(4) is 4, because there are 4 different ways to get 3 tails in 4 tosses (TTTH, THTT, HTTT, TTTT).
Calculate 3 Tails Probability: Now we calculate the probability of getting exactly 3 tails: P(3 tails)=(34)×(0.5)3×(0.5)4−3=4×(0.5)3×(0.5)1=4×0.125×0.5=0.25.
Probability of 4 Tails: Next, we calculate the probability of getting exactly 4 tails. For this, n=4, k=4, and p=0.5. The binomial coefficient (4)(4) is 1, because there is only 1 way to get 4 tails in 4 tosses (TTTT).
Calculate 4 Tails Probability: Now we calculate the probability of getting exactly 4 tails: P(4 tails)=(44)×(0.5)4×(0.5)4−4=1×(0.5)4×(0.5)0=1×0.0625×1=0.0625.
Add Probabilities: To find the probability of getting at least 3 tails, we add the probabilities of getting exactly 3 tails and exactly 4 tails: P(at least 3 tails)=P(3 tails)+P(4 tails)=0.25+0.0625=0.3125.
Final Probability Calculation: Finally, we round the probability to the nearest thousandth: P(at least 3 tails)≈0.313.
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