Lydia thinks that if she were to flip a coin 100 times, that it should land on heads exactly 50 times and tails exactly 50 times. Laurie thinks that it should land on tails approximately 50 times, but it may not be exactly 50. Who is correct?

Answer 1

Laurie is correct. When flipping a fair coin, each outcome (heads or tails) has a 50% chance of occurring. However, this does not guarantee that the coin will land on heads exactly 50 times and tails exactly 50 times in 100 flips. The outcome of each flip is independent of the previous flips, so it is possible for the number of heads and tails to vary around 50 each.