Alinn flipped a coin 20 times. The coin landed heads up 12 times and tails up 8 times.

Question

Part A: Based on the results, what is the experimental probability of the coin landing heads up? Show your work. (5 points)

Part B: What is the theoretical probability of the coin landing heads up? Show your work. (5 points)

Answer 1

Part A:
Experimental probability of the coin landing heads up = Number of times it landed heads up / Total number of coin flips
Experimental probability = 12 / 20
Experimental probability = 0.6 or 60%

Part B:
Theoretical probability of the coin landing heads up = Number of ways to get heads / Total number of possible outcomes
Since a coin has 2 sides (heads and tails) and each side has an equal chance of landing face up,
Theoretical probability = 1/2
Theoretical probability = 0.5 or 50%