A coin is tossed 5 times, what is the probability that exactly 3 heads...
Probability of Getting Exactly 3 Heads in 5 Tosses
When a coin is tossed, there are two possible outcomes - heads or tails. In this case, we are tossing the coin 5 times, so the total number of possible outcomes is 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 32.
Determining the Number of Ways to Get Exactly 3 Heads
To determine the probability of getting exactly 3 heads, we need to determine the number of ways that we can get 3 heads out of 5 tosses. We can use the binomial distribution formula to determine this:
Number of ways to get exactly k successes in n trials = nCk x p^k x (1-p)^(n-k)
In this case, k = 3 (we want exactly 3 heads), n = 5 (we are tossing the coin 5 times), and p = 0.5 (the probability of getting heads on any given toss). Plugging these values into the formula, we get:
Number of ways to get exactly 3 heads = 5C3 x 0.5^3 x (1-0.5)^(5-3) = 10 x 0.125 x 0.25 = 0.3125
Determining the Probability of Getting Exactly 3 Heads
To determine the probability of getting exactly 3 heads, we need to divide the number of ways to get exactly 3 heads by the total number of possible outcomes.
Probability of getting exactly 3 heads = 0.3125/32 = 0.0098
Therefore, the probability of getting exactly 3 heads when a coin is tossed 5 times is 0.0098 or 3/32 (option d).