Although it’s not quite true, suppose the probability of having a male child (M) is equal to the probability of having a female child (F). A couple has four children.
a. Are they more likely to have FFFF or to have MFFM? Explain your answer.
b. Which sequence in part (a) of this exercise would a belief in the law of small numbers cause people to say had higher probability? Explain.
c. Is a couple with four children more likely to have four girls or to have two children of each sex? Explain. (Assume the decision to have four children was independent of the sex of the children.)