SOLUTION: A fair coin is flipped two times. What is the probability that the coin comes up heads first and then tails second?

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Question 1202421: A fair coin is flipped two times. What is the probability that the coin comes up heads first and then tails second?
Answer by math_tutor2020(3817) About Me  (Show Source):
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Answer: 1/4

Explanation:

There are 4 outcomes when flipping a coin twice (i.e. flipping two coins simultaneously).

This is the sample space of all four outcomes
  • HH
  • HT
  • TH
  • TT
H = heads and T = tails

The event HT represents getting heads first, then tails next. There's only one such occurrence out of 4 total. That's how we arrive at 1/4 as the final answer.

Another way to look at it:
1/2 = probability of getting heads on 1st toss
1/2 = probability of getting tails on 2nd toss
(1/2)*(1/2) = 1/4 = probability of getting heads then tails in that order
Each coin flip is independent of any other.