Questions

Patricia

Re: Topic 3 DQ 1

I would have to say my friend is wrong. The text defines probability (symbolized as p) as the frequency of times an outcome occurs divided by the total number of possible outcomes (Privitera, 2015). A coin has a total of two numbers of possible outcomes also known as the sample space, this means we would each have a 0.5 chance of getting a heads on a fair coin toss. Even if we tossed the coin an infinite amount of times, it changes the probabilities, however the odds stay the same. Meaning if we flip the coin more times the probabilities of getting a heads could change but we would both still have an equal opportunity of getting a heads.

Terry

Re: Topic 3 DQ 1

If a coin is tossed there is a 50/50 chance it will land heads up. It is not more likely that it will land one way over another. The friend is not correct, there is just as much of a chance that the coin would land on tails as there is that it would land on heads. When we look at probability of flipping a coin there are only 2 outcomes; heads or tails. This is called the outcome, there is a 50 percent chance the coin will land on heads during each flip. If the coin was flipped an infinite number of times we would expect the results to be ½ of the time it would land on heads and the other ½ would land on tails.

Mary

Re: Topic 3 DQ 1

Probability is “the likelihood that an outcome will occur.” (Privitera 2015, page 131). Probability enables us to make guesses about arbitrary events. When calculating probability, you would measure the frequency of times an outcome occurs and divide it by the total number of outcomes (Privitera, 2015). When discussing the probability of the likelihood of a coin landing on heads, there would be a 50% chance of that outcome occurring. Since there are two sides on a coin, that means there are two possible outcomes. You would divide one (there is one head on the coin) by two (the number of possible outcomes), which would yield ½, or 50% (Lecture 3). You are not more likely to get heads than tails on a single flip because there are only two possibilities, which makes it a 50% chance of the coin landing on either one. Because of this, if the coin was flipped an infinite amount of times, we should expect that half of the time it will land on heads, and the other half on tails.

Christy Person 

Re: Topic 3 DQ 1                               

I would have to say my friend would be mistaken being a coin toss is a random event with an outcome that can vary. Probability is utilized to express the likelihood of an outcome from an event. In the case of a coin toss if we wanted to know the probability of the coin landing heads up we would first find out the number of possible outcomes, for a coin that would be two, heads or tails this is called the sample space. Next we would calculate the number of times heads occurs in the sample space, this would be one. Therefore we can take the frequency of times divided by the sample space and the result is the probability. In the coin toss it would be frequency 1 divided by the sample space 2 and the probability would be ½ (Privitera, 2015).  Regardless as to the number of times we toss the coin the probability of heads will remain the same, each toss has a 50% chance of it landing heads up.