What is the probability of flipping a fair coin and getting heads?

• A. 1/3
• B. 1/2
• C. 2/3
• D. 1

Answer: (B)

Probability with a fair coin is about how many favorable outcomes there are out of all possible outcomes. A fair coin has two equally likely results: heads or tails. Getting heads means 1 favorable outcome out of 2 possible outcomes, so the probability is 1/2. That equals 0.5 or 50%. The values 1/3 or 2/3 would imply there are three outcomes or that heads is more likely than tails, which isn’t true for a fair coin. A value of 1 would mean heads is certain every time, which also isn’t the case.