Question

A penny, nickel, dime, and quarter are simultaneously flipped. What is the expected value of the amount of the coins which come up heads? Express your answer in cents, rounded to the nearest tenth of a cent.

Answer 1

Answer:

20.5 cents

Step-by-step explanation:

Each coin has 1/2 chances of Tails (or number facing).

Hence the Expected value is sum of value times the probability.

Hence the total amount expected is (Penny)/2 + (nickel)/2 + (dime)/2 + (quarter)/2.

Values of each coin are as follow

penny = 1 cent

nickel = 5 cents

dime = 10 cents

quarter = 25 cents

So expected amount = (1 + 5 + 10 + 25)/2 = 41/2 = 20.5 cents.