2006-11-01 12:01:03 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
All your responders so far have assumed that the next child's gender is independent of the prior children's genders. That is a correct assumption.
They have also assumed that the probability of having a boy is 50%. This is not quite true. Population-wide, the ratio of baby boys to baby girls is approximately 105 to 100, so the percentage is actually a bit over 51%.
This is also based on the assumption that the probabilities do not vary from one couple to another. You may have read descriptions of techniques for increasing the probability of having a girl, or of having a boy. And if so, you know that the things you have to do (I won't get too graphic here) are things that some couples are likely to be doing already (because of the geometry of their bodies, or the chemistry of their bodies, or because of their technique). So I suspect (and this is only my opinion) that the probability of having a child of one gender or the other varies from couple to couple.
That last-mentioned suspicion could probably be tested by determining the relative frequency of families with different combinations of boys and girls. Do siblings of the same sex tend to occur more frequently than if each birth were a 51/49 proposition? If so, then there is likely a variation from couple to couple. And if they occur LESS frequently, then we REALLY have a conundrum, and I have NO idea what it would mean.
2006-11-01 14:31:41 · answer #1 · answered by actuator 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The probability is always 50:50
2006-11-01 12:15:13 · answer #2 · answered by JustMe 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
50%
For each individual birth there is always a 50/50 chance for a boy or a girl because the outcomes of previous births do not affect it.
I'm sure that all the sperm are trying to get to the egg first and do not know or care how many boys are already in the family.
2006-11-01 12:05:27 · answer #3 · answered by Suedoenimm 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. About 50/50. The body does not remember what it had as a child last.
2006-11-01 12:03:32 · answer #4 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it doesn't matter that they all ready have four sons. The probability is still 50-50
2006-11-01 12:04:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
50-50
2006-11-01 12:03:04 · answer #6 · answered by Athos 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is a 50-50 chance that it is either boy or girl
2006-11-01 12:10:08 · answer #7 · answered by Almon Opiniano 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
50/50
2006-11-01 12:06:30 · answer #8 · answered by xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
50%
2006-11-01 14:58:31 · answer #9 · answered by Stephanie S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Always use a punnet square for problems like this. Cross XX and XY. The results are always 50/50, so that's your answer.
2006-11-01 12:05:29 · answer #10 · answered by larkinfan11 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋