Can you calculate the probability of getting one head and one tail?
1/2 or 0.5 or 50%
Explanation
The textbook provides the formula for Theoretical Probability as the ratio of favourable outcomes to possible outcomes. It also establishes that the probability of getting HH is 1/4, implying 4 equally likely outcomes (HH, HT, TH, TT) when two coins are tossed. To find the probability of one head and one tail, we count the favourable outcomes (HT and TH) as 2, and divide by the total possible outcomes (4), yielding 2/4 or 1/2.
Solution Steps
Number of possible outcomes: When two coins are tossed, the possible outcomes are HH, HT, TH, and TT. Thus, there are 4 possible outcomes.
Number of favourable outcomes: The favourable outcomes for getting one head and one tail are HT and TH. Thus, there are 2 favourable outcomes.
Theoretical Probability (P): P = (Number of favourable outcomes) / (Number of possible outcomes) = 2 / 4 = 1/2 = 0.5 or 50%.