Problems involving coin tosses are very common in probability. Coins always have an equal chance of landing heads or tails. Whether on the first flip or the fifteenth, it will always be a 50% chance for either side.
James is flipping a coin. He says there is less than a 50% chance that it will land heads this time because it landed heads on his last coin toss. Which of these is true?
A
James is right. There’s less than a 50% chance of landing heads this time.
B
James is wrong. There is greater than a 50% chance of landing heads this time.
C
James is wrong. You can’t calculate the probability of landing heads in a coin toss.
D
James is wrong. No matter how many times you flip a coin, there is still a 50% chance of it landing heads each time.
D
James is wrong. No matter how many times you flip a coin, there is still a 50% chance of it landing heads each time. The outcome of previous coin flips does not affect the probability of future coin flips.