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Mar 26, 2026

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A fair coin is flipped 6 times. What is the probability that the coin lands on tails at least 5 times?

7 64

6 64

5 64

3 64

1 64

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Scott Woodbury-Stewart Founder and Expert GMAT Instructor Scott Woodbury-Stewart Founder and Expert GMAT Instructor

Text Solution:

We need to determine the probability that the coin lands on tails at least 5 times in 6 tosses. What this means is that the coin will land on tails either 5 times out of 6 tosses or 6 times out of 6 tosses.

We can let T = the coin lands on tails on a single toss and H = the coin lands on heads on a single toss. Let’s now express the scenarios below and determine the probability of each one.

Scenario 1:

Out of 6 tosses, the coin lands on tails exactly 5 times.

We need to determine the number of possible outcomes of obtaining TTTTTH, not necessarily in that order.

TTTTTH can be arranged in 6! 5! =6 ways , so there are six possible outcomes in which the coin lands on heads exactly five times.

Next, we can determine the probability of one possible outcome:

One possible outcome is TTTTTH, which has a probability of 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 = 1 64 .

Finally, to determine the actual probability of the coin landing on heads exactly five times in six tosses, we calculate as follows:

number of possible outcomes producing the event × probability of just one outcome

6× 1 64 = 6 64

Now, let’s consider scenario 2.

Scenario 2:

Out of 6 tosses, the coin lands on tails exactly 6 times.

We need to determine the number of possible outcomes of TTTTTT. Notice that this outcome can occur in only one way. Thus, the probability is the following:

P(Scenario 1) + P(Scenario 2)

1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 × 1 2 = 1 64

Finally, to determine the probability that the coins land on heads at least five times in six tosses, we add the probabilities from scenario one and scenario two:

6 64 + 1 64 = 7 64

Correct answer: A
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