Solution #86: Sons

For two children, there are only four possible combinations:
	    Older  Younger
	------------------
	A    Girl    Girl
	B    Girl    Boy
	C    Boy     Girl
	D    Boy     Boy
Each of these combinations is equally likely (i.e. there is a one in four chance that any two-child family will have one of the above combinations).

For Mrs. Jones, the possibilities are narrowed down to A, B or C and of these, only A means that both are both boys. Therefore, the chance that both her children are boys is one in three.

For Mrs. Brown, A and C are the only possibilities. There is thus a one in two chance that both her children are boys.


Source: Sloane, Paul
Categories: Clever, Probability
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