What is the probability of getting one head and one tail when tossing two coins simultaneously?

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To find the probability of getting one head and one tail when tossing two coins, we will start by determining the possible outcomes.

When tossing two coins, each coin has two possible outcomes: heads (H) or tails (T). The combinations of outcomes when tossing both coins can be listed as follows:

  • HH (both coins show heads)
  • HT (first coin shows heads, second coin shows tails)
  • TH (first coin shows tails, second coin shows heads)
  • TT (both coins show tails)

So, the complete sample space includes the four outcomes: {HH, HT, TH, TT}.

Next, we are interested in the scenarios where we have one head and one tail. The outcomes meeting this criterion are:

  • HT (first coin: heads, second coin: tails)
  • TH (first coin: tails, second coin: heads)

Thus, there are 2 favorable outcomes for getting one head and one tail.

Now, we can calculate the probability. Probability is defined as the number of favorable outcomes divided by the total number of possible outcomes:

Probability (P) = Number of Favorable Outcomes / Total Number of Possible Outcomes

In our case:

P = 2 (favorable outcomes) / 4 (total outcomes) = 1/2.

Therefore, the probability of getting one head and one tail when tossing two coins simultaneously is 1/2 or 50%.

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