Understanding the Probability of Having One Boy and One Girl

Discover the 50% probability of having one boy and one girl with clear explanations and examples.

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The probability of having one boy and one girl is 50%. Assuming each child has an independent 50% chance of being a boy or a girl, there are four possible outcomes for two children: boy-boy, boy-girl, girl-boy, and girl-girl. Two out of these four outcomes result in having one boy and one girl.

FAQs & Answers

  1. What are the possible gender combinations for two children? The possible combinations are boy-boy, boy-girl, girl-boy, and girl-girl.
  2. How do you calculate the probability of different gender outcomes? You calculate the probability by determining the total number of outcomes and the favorable outcomes; for two children, it's 2 favorable outcomes (boy-girl) out of 4 total combinations.
  3. Is the probability of having a boy or girl the same for each child? Yes, each child has an independent 50% chance of being a boy or a girl.
  4. What does independent chance mean in probabilities? Independent chance means that the outcome of one event does not affect the outcome of another; in this case, each child's gender is independent of the other's gender.