Skip to content

A run of exactly three heads in six tosses

Question

A fair coin is tossed six times. What is the probability that the sequence contains a block of exactly three heads in a row, i.e. three consecutive heads bordered on each side by a tail or by the end of the sequence?

Short answer

3/163/16. The run can start at positions 11–44. Starting at 11 or 44, one neighbour must be TT and the two other tosses are free (44 each); starting at 22 or 33, both neighbours are TT and one toss is free (22 each). That is 1212 of 6464 sequences.

Adapted from QuantQuestions.io; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

See the hint and the full worked solution in the question bank (free account).

Open the worked solution

Lessons behind this question

Start with a free lesson: Probability Fundamentals is part of a free topic. Create a free account, no card needed, to read it in full with worked solutions.

Read it free