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8.4 Jennifer Tofan232
8.4 Jennifer Tofan232
8.4 Jennifer Tofan232
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Suppose that a family has 5 children.Also, suppose that the probability of having a girl(based on the gender assigned atbirth) is . Find the
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probability that the family has the following children.
If p is the probability of success in a single trial of a binomialexperiment, the probability of x successes and n − x failures in n independent
repeated trials of theexperiment, known as binomialprobability, is as shown below.
n−x
P(x successes in n trials) = C(n,x) • px • (1 − p)
n=5
x=4
Identifyp, the probability of success in a single trial. In thiscase, p is the probability of having a girl(based on the gender assigned atbirth).
1
p=
2
n−x
Use the formula for the binomialprobability, C(n,x) • px • (1 − p) , to find the probability of having exactly 4 girls.
4 5−4
1 1
P(exactly 4 girls) = C(5,4) 1−
2 2
5
1
= 5 Evaluate C(5,4) and simplify.
2
5
= Simplify.
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If the family has exactly 4 girls with 5 children, then the family will have 1 boy. Thus, the probability of having exactly 4 girls is equal to the
probability of having exactly 4 girls and 1 boy.
5
Therefore, the probability of having exactly 4 girls and 1 boy is .
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