Sex composition patterns of children in families. In having children, is there a genetic factor that causes some families to favor one sex over the other? That is, does having boys or girls “run in the family”? This was the question of interest in Chance (Fall 2001). Using data collected on children’s sex for over 4,000 American families that had at least two children, the researchers compiled the accompanying table. An American family with at least two children is selected, and the sex composition of the first two children is observed.
a. List the sample points for this experiment.
Sex Composition of First'Two Children
Frequency
Boy-Boy
1,085
Boy-Girl
1,086
Girl-Boy
1,111
Girl-Girl
926
TOTAL
4,208
Source: Rodgers, J. L., and Doughty, D. “Does having boys or girls run in the family?” Chance, Vol. 14, No. 4, Fall 2001, Table 3.
b. If having a boy is no more likely than having a girl and vice versa, assign a probability to each sample point.
c. Use the information in the table to estimate the sample point probabilities. Do these estimates agree (to a reasonable degree of approximation) with the probabilities you found in part b?
d. Make an inference about whether having boys or girls “runs in the family.”
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