Binomial Probability
Also known as exactly k successes
Worked example: Exactly 2 heads in 5 tosses → P = 0.3125. Press Try an example to run it live, then adjust anything.
Enter your known values, leave one input blank, and solves for the missing one. Tap a variable’s symbol to see what it means, with a typical value. Change any unit and the answer follows.
Where Binomial Probability fits
See also
Binomial Distribution Mean: Both use number of trials and probability of success per trial.Binomial Distribution Variance: Both use number of trials and probability of success per trial.Expected Trials Until First Success: Both use number of trials and probability of success per trial.Geometric Distribution (First Success): Both use number of trials and probability of success per trial.Probability of At Least One Success: Both use number of trials and probability of success per trial.Chance of Meeting a Target Number on One Die: Both use probability of success per trial.The binomial distribution →
Grade 12Grade 12 Math
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Binomial Probability explained
Three ideas multiply here: for the successes, for the failures, and the binomial coefficient for the number of orders in which they can occur. Exactly two heads in five fair tosses: C(5,2) × 0.5² × 0.5³ = 10 × 0.03125 = 0.3125. The distribution is Jacob Bernoulli's, worked out before his death in 1705 and published in Ars Conjectandi in 1713 by his nephew Nicolaus, together with the first law of large numbers.
Enter p as a decimal from 0 to 1, or switch that input to %. Three conditions must hold or the answer is meaningless: fixed n, independent trials, and a constant p. Sampling without replacement from a small population violates the last two, and that is the hypergeometric distribution's job instead. There is no closed form for n, k or p given the probability, so the calculator finds them numerically, and since the chance rises to a peak and falls away, it gives the smaller of the two that fit and names the other. And read the question carefully: "exactly k" is one term, while "at least k" means summing several. Three sixes in ten rolls of a fair die: C(10,3) × (1/6)³ × (5/6)⁷ ≈ 0.155.
Binomial Probability formula
- = Probability of exactly k successes
- = Number of trials
- = Number of successes
- = Probability of success per trial
Cite this page
formula.expert. (2026, November 1). Binomial Probability Formula & Calculator. https://formula.expert/solvers/binomial-probability