I'm in a stats class right now, so helping you with this helps me prepare for my midterm on Monday night!
You can PM me if these answers don't make sense to you.
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Originally Posted by archetypal fool
1. What is the probability of throwing two dice and obtaining a 4 and a 6? I'm getting 1/36, because the P of getting any side is 1/6, and because the conditions are independent, I multiplied them...But the correct answer is 1/18. My mind is boggling...
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Honestly, I would answer 1/6 * 1/6 = 1/36 on this question as well. There may just be a difference because you're rolling two dice at the same time. Hmm. I might crack my stats book on this one, I need to study anyway.
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Originally Posted by archetypal fool
2. A family has five kids. What is the probability that the first and last born are male? I have no clue how to get this. Obviously, the probability of getting a single male or female is 1/2, but I can't handle the order... What do I do? The answer is 1/4.
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The order has no bearing on the answer of the question; the events are independent and the probability of 1/2 will not change based on the sex of the other children. You just want the probability of getting two males, which is 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/4.
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Originally Posted by archetypal fool
3. What is the probability of flipping a coin six times in a row and getting three heads in a row, followed by three tails? What do I do with this? The answer's 1/64.
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The probability of getting heads (or tails) is 1/2. You just multiply it out for six coin flips, 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/64 (or just do [1/2]^6). It doesn't matter whether you're getting heads or tails on each flip, the events are independent.
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Originally Posted by archetypal fool
4. What is the probability of flipping a coin six times in a row and getting three heads in a row and three tails? Once again, how do I account for the order? The answer's 5/16.
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This is the exact same as question 3? Can you check the question and get back to me?
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Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Do I get a cookie? I hope I helped at least a little bit.