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Savant13
Dec2-08, 06:39 PM
If I flip two coins at once and don't care which one is heads in the case of a head and a tail, how many degrees of freedom are there?

ssd
Dec6-08, 01:05 PM
What is the statistic you are considering?

flying_young
Dec21-08, 02:01 PM
Yes, it really depends on the statistical test you are interested in using. If you wish to test whether the probability of getting a head or a tail is equal (i.e., P(H)=P(T)=0.25 for two coins), then you may want to use the Chi-square goodness of fit test.

The degree of freedom for this test, then, is Number of Characteristics - 1 = 2 - 1 = 1. Notice there are two characteristics here - tail and head.

Feel free to correct me if you think otherwise.