Question

A fair coin is tossed three times. What is P(tossing three tails)?

one eighth
one fourth
three eighths
one half

Answer 1

To find the probability of tossing three tails when a fair coin is tossed three times, we can follow these steps:

1. **Determine the number of possible outcomes**: When a coin is tossed three times, the possible outcomes are \(2^3 = 8\) because each toss has 2 possible results (heads or tails).

2. **Identify the favorable outcome**: The only favorable outcome for getting three tails is TTT, which counts as 1 possibility.

3. **Calculate the probability**: The probability of an event is given by the formula:
\[
P(\text{event}) = \frac{\text{Number of favorable outcomes}}{\text{Total number of outcomes}}
\]
In this case:
\[
P(\text{three tails}) = \frac{1}{8}
\]

Therefore, the probability of tossing three tails is **one eighth**.