Problem:
Four children were born at City Hospital yesterday. Assume each child is equally likely to be a boy or a girl. Which of the following outcomes is most likely?
Answer Choices:
A. all are boys
B. all are girls
C. are girls and are boys
D. are of one gender and is of the other gender
E. all of these outcomes are equally likely
Solution:
The equally likely outcomes may be grouped as follows:
boys:
boys, girl:
boys, girls:
boy, girls:
girls:
There are equally likely outcomes that produce of one gender and of the other gender, so that result is most likely.
Answer: .
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions