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Question 36 of 37

Q.Five fair coins are tossed simultaneously. Find the probability of getting exactly 3 heads.

Tamil Nadu DgeTamil Nadu HSC (DGE) Commerce Board 2026Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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Binomial with n=5, p=12n=5,\ p=\tfrac12: P(X=3)=(53)(12)5=1032=516=0.3125P(X=3)=\binom{5}{3}(\tfrac12)^5=\tfrac{10}{32}=\tfrac{5}{16}=0.3125.

Each coin is an independent trial with probability of a head p=12p=\tfrac12 and of a tail q=1−p=12q=1-p=\tfrac12. Let XX be the number of heads in 55 tosses; then X∼B(5,12)X\sim B(5,\tfrac12).

Step 1 — Binomial formula:

P(X=x)=(nx)pxq n−x.P(X=x)=\binom{n}{x}p^{x}q^{\,n-x}.

Step 2 — Substitute n=5, x=3, p=q=12n=5,\ x=3,\ p=q=\tfrac12:

P(X=3)=(53)(12)3(12)2=(53)(12)5.P(X=3)=\binom{5}{3}\left(\frac12\right)^{3}\left(\frac12\right)^{2}=\binom{5}{3}\left(\frac12\right)^{5}.

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