Table of Contents
What is the probability of a family having 2 girls?
It there is a 50\% chance that we will be told the first child is a boy, when there is one of each gender, then the probability of two girls is 50\%.
What are the chances of having 5 sons?
If you already have a boy, the chance that the next baby is also a boy is 50 percent
| All same sex | Different sexes | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 children | 12.5\% all girls or all boys | 37.5\% 1B/3G or 1G/3B |
| 5 children | 6.25\% all boys or all girls | 25\% BBBB/G or GGGG/B |
| 6 children | 3.125\% all boys or all girls | 12.5\% BBBBB/G or GGGGG/B |
What is the probability of having 5 sons in a row?
The probability of any couple who has five children to have five boys in a row is 1/32 = 3.1\%.
What is the probability of all three children being girls?
The probability of all three children being girls is the same as that as being all boys, 1 8. And so the probability of the children being all boys or all girls is: P (all boys or all girls) = 1 8 + 1 8 = 1 4
How many possible combinations of 2 boys and a girl?
As we have seen from the other answers, there are 3 permutations out of 8 which contain 2 boys and a girl. But what if we looked at the combinations instead? The combinations of 2 genders among 3 children are: 2 girls, 1 boy can be rearranged, and the boy can have 3 positions (youngest, middle or oldest).
How many different ways can you have a baby?
We know too that of those 8 ways, 2 are for where all three children are the same gender, leaving 6 ways. Of those 6 ways, half will be for having 2 boys and 1 girl and the other half will be for having 2 girls and 1 boy.
How many ways can you have a boy and a girl?
Of those 6 ways, half will be for having 2 boys and 1 girl and the other half will be for having 2 girls and 1 boy. To have at least one child of each sex, we need to subtract out from the 8 ways the genders can be the 2 that are single sex (i.e. all boys and all girls).