A penny, a nickel and a dime and a quarter are tossed. What is the probability of obtaining at least three heads?
This is the same as asking for the probability of 3 or 4 heads.
To find the probability of obtaining at least three heads when tossing a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a quarter, we can analyze the possible outcomes.
First, let's determine the total number of possible outcomes when tossing four coins. Since each coin has two possible outcomes (heads or tails), the total number of outcomes is 2^4 = 16.
Now, let's count the number of outcomes in which we can obtain at least three heads.
There are four possible scenarios:
1. Three heads and one tail: HHTT
2. One head and three tails: THHH
3. Four heads: HHHH
Therefore, there are three favorable outcomes out of the 16 total possible outcomes.
The probability of obtaining at least three heads is given by:
Probability = Number of favorable outcomes / Number of total outcomes
Probability = 3 / 16
Thus, the probability of obtaining at least three heads when tossing a penny, a nickel, a dime, and a quarter is 3/16 or 0.1875 (or 18.75%).