If a coin is tossed three times, what is the probability of getting at least one
Practice Questions
Q1
If a coin is tossed three times, what is the probability of getting at least one head?
1/8
1/2
7/8
3/8
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If a coin is tossed three times, what is the probability of getting at least one head?
Correct Answer: 7/8
Step 1: Understand that when a coin is tossed, there are two possible outcomes: heads (H) or tails (T).
Step 2: When the coin is tossed three times, we can have different combinations of heads and tails.
Step 3: Calculate the total number of outcomes when tossing the coin three times. Since there are 2 outcomes for each toss, the total outcomes are 2^3 = 8.
Step 4: List the possible outcomes: HHH, HHT, HTH, HTT, THH, THT, TTH, TTT.
Step 5: Identify the outcome where there are no heads, which is TTT (all tails).
Step 6: Calculate the probability of getting all tails (no heads). There is 1 outcome of TTT out of 8 total outcomes, so the probability is 1/8.
Step 7: To find the probability of getting at least one head, subtract the probability of getting no heads from 1: 1 - (1/8) = 7/8.
Step 8: Therefore, the probability of getting at least one head when tossing the coin three times is 7/8.
Probability of Independent Events – Understanding how to calculate the probability of independent events occurring, such as multiple coin tosses.
Complementary Events – Using the concept of complementary events to find the probability of at least one occurrence by calculating the probability of the opposite event.
