Question

lect the correct answer.
college requires all incoming freshmen to live on campus. the college has two freshman dormitories, east and west. for an upcoming school year,
ere are 800 incoming freshmen.
which method evenly assigns the students to the two dormitories so that each incoming freshman has a fair chance of being selected for either
dormitory?
a. using a random number generator, assign each incoming freshman a number, eliminating duplicate numbers. after each incoming
freshman is assigned a number, list the assigned numbers in ascending order. assign the first 400 numbers on the list to east
dormitory, and assign the last 400 numbers on the list to west dormitory.

b. using a random number generator, assign each incoming freshman a number, eliminating any duplicate numbers. assign each
incoming freshman with an even number to east dormitory, and assign each freshman with an odd number to west dormitory.

c. using a two - sided coin, flip a coin for each incoming freshman. if the coin lands on heads, assign the freshman to east dormitory. if
the coin lands on tails, assign the freshman to west dormitory.

d. using a random number generator, assign each incoming freshman a number, eliminating any duplicate numbers. assign each
incoming freshman with a positive number to east dormitory, and assign each incoming freshman with a negative number to west
dormitory.

Explanation:

• Option A: Assigning based on ascending order of numbers doesn't give a fair chance as it's not random; students with lower numbers go to East, higher to West, so it's systematic, not random.
• Option B: Assigning by even/odd numbers may not be fair if the random numbers generated don't have an equal number of even and odd (though with 800 students, it might be close, but it's not as straightforward a fair chance as a coin flip). Also, the random number generation might not ensure equal even/odd distribution by chance.
• Option C: Flipping a fair two - sided coin for each freshman gives each student a 50% chance (heads or tails) of being assigned to either dormitory. This is a classic random and fair assignment method as the probability of heads (East) and tails (West) is equal for each trial (each freshman).
• Option D: Assigning by positive/negative numbers is not fair because a random number generator could generate more positive or negative numbers, and there's no guarantee of an equal split. Also, the nature of random number generation for positive/negative doesn't ensure a 50 - 50 chance for each student.

Answer:

C. Using a two - sided coin, flip a coin for each incoming freshman. If the coin lands on heads, assign the freshman to East dormitory. If the coin lands on tails, assign the freshman to West dormitory.