Shodor Education Foundation
Experimental Probability
Spin into a dicey experiment. Pupils use a spinner or a pair of dice to determine the experimental probabilities of each outcome. The interactive allows for either, one, five, or ten consecutive experiments. Using the applet, learners...
EngageNY
Calculating Probabilities for Chance Experiments with Equally Likely Outcomes
Calculate theoretical probabilities and compare them to experimental probabilities. Pupils build on their knowledge of experimental probabilities to determine theoretical probabilities. Participants work several problems with the...
EngageNY
Estimating Probabilities by Collecting Data
Take a spin to determine experimental probability. Small groups spin a spinner and keep track of the sums of the spins and calculate the resulting probabilities. Pupils use simulated frequencies to practice finding other probabilities to...
Curated OER
Rolling Twice
Rolling dice is the best way to show your learners how probability comes in to play. Although this lesson does not specify an activity, your mathematicians can try this probability with real dice to calculate their experimental...
Radford University
Connecting Theoretical and Experimental Probability
Play some games, develop a law, and then call it a day. Learners first perform a small number of trials for a probability experiment, then predict the result for a larger number of trials. They then compile data from the entire class to...
National Security Agency
It's Probably Probable
Learners make predictions and draw conclusions from given information as they learn the meaning of probability in this vocabulary-rich, integrated activity that presents a variety of teaching strategies to motivate and reach all learning...
S2tem Centers SC
Investigating Chance Processes of Probability
How likely is it that the school cafeteria will serve chicken tomorrow? Discover the concept of probability with the roll of the dice. Pupils evaluate the liklihood of several statments about everyday life. Then, a mathematical...
Illustrative Mathematics
Tossing Cylinders
Everyone loves a lesson that involves throwing things around! To understand probability, your experimenters will predict how different cylinder-shaped objects will land when tossed. When the data is collected, they will calculate the...
EngageNY
The Difference Between Theoretical Probabilities and Estimated Probabilities
Flip a coin to determine whether the probability of heads is one-half. Pupils use simulated data to find the experimental probability of flipping a coin. Participants compare the long run relative frequency with the known theoretical...
University of California
Student Workbook: Statistics and Probability
Statistically, practicing this packet completely helps young mathematicians do well on the test. The packet is adaptable to many grade levels as it includes basic probability and goes up to data analysis with mean, median, and mode.
Radford University
AFDA Probability and Law of Large Numbers
The more trials scholars perform, the closer they'll likely be to the true value. After designing a probability experiment, young mathematicians conduct the experiment for five different numbers of trials. They then analyze the results,...
Shodor Education Foundation
Spinner
Go round and round to compare theoretical and experimental probabilities. Learners set the number of sectors and the number of spins for a spinner. Then, a table displays the experimental and theoretical probabilities of the spinner for...
Shodor Education Foundation
Buffon's Needle
Find the needle on a lined paper. Pupils run a simulation of dropping a needle on a lined paper. The probability of the needle crossing at least one line is pi/2. After each trial, the interactive displays the approximation of pi based...
EngageNY
Conducting a Simulation to Estimate the Probability of an Event
How can you complete a simulation when it is not practical to determine the probability of an event? Class members learn that in some situations, it is not feasible to find the probability of an event, but they can estimate it by running...
National Security Agency
Are You Game? A Lesson Connecting Fractions and Probability
Exactly how fair are the board games children grow up playing? Young mathematicians investigate this questions as they work their way through this five-lesson series on basic probability.
Heidi Songs
Zoo Animal Probability Graph
Capture the engagement of your young mathematicians with a collaborative graphing activity. Using a deck of zoo animal picture cards, students select a picture from the deck, record the chosen animal on a graph, and then replace the card...
Shodor Education Foundation
Marbles
Grab some marbles from a bag. The applet simulates drawing marbles from a bag. Pupils determine the number of four colors of marbles in a bag and how many marbles to draw. Using information on whether order matters in the draw and if...
EngageNY
Applying Probability to Make Informed Decisions
Use simulations to determine the probabilities of events to make decisions. Class members are presented with several scenarios, some with known probabilities and others without. Groups run simulations to gather data that they then use to...
American Statistical Association
Exploring Geometric Probabilities with Buffon’s Coin Problem
Scholars create and perform experiments attempting to answer Buffon's Coin problem. They discover the relationships between geometry and probability, empirical and theoretical probabilities, and area of a circle and square.
EngageNY
Conducting a Simulation to Estimate the Probability of an Event II
Add some randomization into simulations. The 11th installment in a series of 25 presents two new methods to use in simulations--colored disks, and random numbers. Pupils use random numbers to run simulations where the probabilities make...
Illustrative Mathematics
Return to Fred's Fun Factory (with 50 Cents)
The penny arcade gets the statistics treatment in this fun probability investigation. A non-standard game of chance is described and then the class is set loose to find missing probabilities, determine common outcomes, and evaluate...
Mathalicious
Three Shots
To foul or not to foul, that is the basketball question. High schoolers look at the probability that fouling out a player and allowing free throws yields a better outcome than allowing the original shot. The resource provides a teacher's...
Shodor Education Foundation
Simple Monty Hall
What's behind door number one? A fun resource lets learners simulate the classic Monty Hall probability problem. Pupils choose a door, and after they select a losing door, they decide whether to switch or stay. Using their decisions, the...
EngageNY
Chance Experiments with Outcomes That Are Not Equally Likely
The fifth portion of the 25-part series introduces probabilities calculated from outcomes that are not equally likely. Class members use tables to calculate probabilities of events, add outcome's probabilities, and find complements....