experimental probability

Question

an 8 equal sector spinner numbered from 1 to 8 was spinned. the first 3 spinner stopped on the number 8. what is the experimental probability that the spinner will land on the number 8 for the 4th spin?

Answer 1

Every spin of the spinner is independent of each spin before and after that spin. In other words, for every spin of an eight sector spinner,, regardless of how many times the spinner was spun, the probability of the spinner stopping on number eight is one out of eight. If the spinner is spun one hundred times, and all of those were number eight (highly unlikely, I agree) the probability of the 101st spin being eight is still one out of eight.

If the problem is what is the probability of the spinner stopping on number eight each time in four consecutive spins, then that is another question. In that case the results would not be independent of each other, rather those results would be linked because the number eight would have to happen each time. In that case, the probability would be 1/8 raised to the fourth power, or 1/4096.

Hope that helps.