Tossing Coins

When you toss a coin there are two equally likely outcomes:

Heads	Tails

The probability of getting a head is 1 out of 2. We write this as the fraction ½.

Using the heads and tails simulation

To work out the following:

1) What is the probability of getting a tail when tossing 1 coin?

2) If you toss 2 coins together there are 3 different possible outcomes – list them.

3) Predict how many of each you think you would get if you toss 2  coins 100 times. Do you think each of these 3 outcomes is equally likely?

4) Do the simulation – explain what does happen. Were you correct?

5) Predict how many of each outcome you expect for 500 tosses then do the simulation. Repeat for 1000 tosses.

You should now be able to explain the probabilities of the three outcomes.

Repeat questions 2) to 5) for 3 coins, first working out how many different outcomes there are.

Now try for 4 and 5 coins

Can you now come up with a solution for any number (n) of coins ?

How many other situations can you think of that will behave in a similar way ?