The Cox family has 4 boys.
•What is the probability of a 4-child family having 4 boys?
•What is the probability that the next child of the Cox family will be a boy, given that they have already 4 boys in a row?
If the events are independent, the probability of both/all events occurring is determined by multiplying the probabilities of the individual events.
http://drdavespsychologypage.homestead.com/Odds__Figuring.pdf
Thanks that help a lot.
Jacky
To find the probability of a particular event occurring, we need to determine the number of favorable outcomes and the total number of possible outcomes.
1. Probability of a 4-child family having 4 boys:
In this case, there is only one favorable outcome, which is having all four children as boys. The total number of possible outcomes can be calculated using the formula 2^n, where n is the number of children in the family. Here, n is 4, so the total number of possible outcomes is 2^4 = 16 (since each child can be either a boy or a girl). Therefore, the probability of a 4-child family having 4 boys is 1/16.
2. Probability that the next child of the Cox family will be a boy, given that they already have 4 boys in a row:
Since the gender of each child is independent of the gender of the previous child, the probability of each child being a boy or a girl remains the same. Therefore, the probability that the next child will be a boy is also 1/2, regardless of the children that have come before.