Suppose you toss a quarter, a dime, and a nickel into the air. What is the probability of all three landing on tails? What is the probability of the quarter landing on tails? (Hint: if you flip it once, that is your numerator. And how many ways it can land, is your denominator)
To find the probability of all three coins landing on tails, we first need to determine the probability of each coin landing on tails individually.
The probability of a quarter landing on tails is 1/2, as there are 2 possible outcomes (heads or tails) and 1 of them is tails.
Similarly, the probability of a dime landing on tails is also 1/2.
And the probability of a nickel landing on tails is also 1/2.
To find the probability of all three coins landing on tails, we multiply the probabilities of each coin landing on tails together:
(1/2) * (1/2) * (1/2) = 1/8
Therefore, the probability of all three coins landing on tails is 1/8.
The probability of the quarter landing on tails only is 1/2, because there are only 2 possible outcomes for the quarter (heads or tails) and 1 of them is tails.