Skip to main content

Experimental vs Theoretical Probability Intro

Our district has a subscription to MathBits where I find so many good ideas! I love this activity as an introduction to probability! I have 4 different stations - coin toss, spinner, die roll, and chips in a bag. To create smaller groups, I made 3 of the same 4 stations. I bought these huge magnetic spinners by mistake, but they work perfectly for this lesson. Right now, I just draw the spinner on the white board. Next year, I am going to get some posters made so that the sections are equally likely. For the chips, I found some old poker chips and used a sharpie to write A - E. The coin and die are self explanatory. :) 

 The students must find the experimental probability at each station with only 15-20 trials. The students start at one station and move around the room to each station. Once back to their original group, the students must use the Probability Simulator on the calculator to find the experimental probability with more trials for each station. Finally, the students must calculate the theoretical probability. 

 I have the students compare their experimental smaller trials to the calculator simulation. Then students must compare both to the theoretical probability. I love when students write about their thought process! All of the students saw the connection and described why the experimental was possibly different. 

 This is just one of the great resources that I have used from MathBits, so if you have the chance to purchase, I would definitely recommend! 

 ~RJ 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exponential Growth & Decay Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger Hunts are always fun (and easy to grade). This particular one is all about applications of exponential growth & decay. My students seem to understand this topic really well, but I still wanted to provide more practice.  When I did this hunt originally, I created the cards with the answer on the front and the question on the back. Once I figured out how to copy and make it work, it was great because I could use the cards over and over again. However, they started looking old, and I lost some of the cards. So t his year, I placed the answer and question on the front. It made it so much easier to copy!  If you would like to try this in your class, here is a copy ! I included the solutions as well.  UPDATE: I created this activity and transformed into a remote version.  Remote Version: SE Scavenger Hunt               TE Scavenger Hunt ~RJ
Post a Comment
Read more

Modeling Exponential Growth (M&M Activity)

I could present an application problem on the board, have the students plug into their calculator and find the exponential regression equation. However, I think that visualizing the growth is more effective, and allows students to see how fast something like cancer cells can grow. This activity provides a hands on experience with M&Ms while modeling real world concepts.  I found this activity here , but created my own (slightly different) version. I only had enough time for exponential growth, so I eliminated the decay portion.  I really like how students compare the equation that they found to the calculator's regression model. This activity also causes students to discuss each component of the equation, which I think is very important in AFM. Additionally, this brings up a great discussion regarding cancer cells. Do all cancer cells grow exponentially? If time allows, I like for students to do some research (using their phones) to aid with this conversation....
Post a Comment
Read more

Limit Project

Well...we just got back into school after being out for almost 3 weeks because of hurricane Florence. Our school is okay, but there are many people out there suffering from losing so much. :(  I had planned on a project for Calculus before the storm but will have to put that aside until next year! We have just lost too much time. However, I wanted to still share the project with you guys in case you would like to try it or something similar to it.   I like to make projects a unique experience. I hate when all students do the same thing. #1 - students can and WILL copy. #2 - It's boring to grade!  The idea of this project is floating somewhere on the web. I honestly can't remember where I got the idea. But I have altered it over the years to meet the needs of my students. It has gone through many alterations, and I will continue to change things.  So it is not perfect!  The gist - students find a recipe that has at least 5 ingredients. (The recipe ...
Post a Comment
Read more