Let's say you flip 2 coins simultaneously. There are 3 possible outcomes: Both are heads, both are tails, or one is heads and the other is tails. Does this mean that the probability of getting one head and one tail is 1/3?
Not quite. There are 4 possible outcomes
Coin1 Coin2
H H
H T
T H
T T
Two of those result in a tail and a head. So, the probability is 2/4 = 1/2
To determine the probability of getting one head and one tail when flipping two coins simultaneously, we need to consider the total number of possible outcomes and the number of favorable outcomes.
When flipping two coins, each coin has two possible outcomes: heads or tails. So, the total number of possible outcomes for two coins is 2 * 2 = 4. These possibilities are: HH (both heads), HT (one head and one tail), TH (one head and one tail), and TT (both tails).
Out of the four possible outcomes, only one of them has one head and one tail (HT or TH). Therefore, the number of favorable outcomes is 1.
The probability of an event is calculated by dividing the number of favorable outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes. In this case, the probability of getting one head and one tail is 1 favorable outcome out of 4 possible outcomes.
So, the probability of getting one head and one tail when flipping two coins simultaneously is 1/4, not 1/3.