Understanding the Probability of Gender Combinations
Introduction to the Scenario
Dr. Johnson is a parent of two children, one of whom is a girl. In this context, we are tasked with determining the likelihood that the other child is also a girl, given that the probability of each child being either gender is ½.
Possible Combinations of Children
To analyze this situation, we can outline the potential combinations of the two children. The possible gender combinations are:
– Girl-Girl
– Girl-Boy
– Boy-Girl
Calculating the Probability
Since we are specifically interested in the scenario where both children are girls, we can see that among the three possible outcomes, only one combination (Girl-Girl) meets this criterion.
Thus, the probability that the other child is also a girl is calculated as follows:
– Total possible outcomes: 3
– Favorable outcomes (Girl-Girl): 1
Therefore, the probability is expressed as:
Probability = Favorable Outcomes / Total Outcomes = 1/3.