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why bggg different then gggb?
KarishmaB


The following is the complete explanation for this question:

You need to find Probability of 2 boys and 2 girls given there are at least 2 girls. This is a conditional probability. You have already been given that there are at least 2 girls. You need to find the probability of 2 boys and 2 girls given this condition.
P(A given B) = P(A)/P(B)

P(2 boys, 2 girls) = (1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2) * 4!/(2!*2!) = 3/8
You multiply by 4!/(2!*2!) because out of the four children, any 2 could be boys and the other two would be girls. So you have to account for all arrangements: BGBG, BBGG, BGGB etc

P(atleast 2 girls) = P(2 boys, 2 girls) + P(1 boy, 3 girls) + P(4 girls) = 1 - P(4 boys) - P(3 boys, 1 girl)
You can solve P(atleast 2 girls) in any way you like.
P(1 boy, 3 girls) = (1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2) * 4!/3! = 1/4
P(4 girls) = (1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2) = 1/16
P(atleast 2 girls) = 3/8 + 1/4 + 1/16 = 11/16

P(2 boys, 2 girls given atleast 2 girls) = P(2 boys, 2 girls) / P(atleast 2 girls) = (3/8)/(11/16) = 6/11

In the above given solutions, all the (1/2)s have been ignored because the probability of a boy is 1/2 and of a girl is 1/2 too. Hence in every case you will get (1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2)*(1/2) which can be ignored. We just need to focus on arrangements in each case. This is similar to the famous coin flipping questions (the probability of 3 Heads and a tail etc)
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shvm_sin7
why bggg different then gggb?


For the same reason having 3 girls and 1 boy is 4 times as likely as having 4 boys or 999 heads and 1 tail is 1000 times more likely than 1000 heads when tossing a coin 1000 times.

bggg requires the boy to be born first.

gggb requires the boy to be born last.

Two different birth orders.
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