Suppose x coins are tossed. Write an expression to represent the number of possible outcomes.

Solution:

Tossing a coin has - 2 possible outcomes (head or tail) i.e. 2.

When 2 fair coins are tossed- 4 possible outcomes(HH,HT,TH,TT) i.e. 4=2²

When 3 fair coins are tossed- 8 outcomes i.e. 2³

If we look at the pattern the outcomes are, we can say that they are in geometric progression with the constant ratio of 2.

Thus following this pattern, we have 2^x possible outcomes, where x denotes the number of coins tossed.

Hence, the expression is 2^x

Suppose x coins are tossed. Write an expression to represent the number of possible outcomes.

Summary:

An expression to represent the number of possible outcomes when x coins are tossed is 2^x.