Pictures of Probability
Intent
In Pictures of Probability, students continue to develop tools for analyzing probabilistic situations. Students use area models, introduced using the notion of rugs, to determine theoretical probabilities. They also build on the skill of developing winning strategies. The counters game is based on rolls of two dice, and in the POW students develop a strategy for the nonprobabilistic game Linear Nim.
Mathematics
An area model represents the probability of an event as the ratio of two areas. If the region representing the event (the desired outcomes) is small compared to the region representing all possible outcomes (called the sample space), then the probability of the event is close to 0. If the desired region is almost the entire region, then the probability is close to 1. This tool allows students to find the theoretical probability of an event. For example, the following area model shows that the theoretical probability of getting two heads when flipping two coins is
 |
Progression
Pictures of Probability begins with a set of activities that introduce the area model for finding theoretical probabilities. Students then use this tool to answer questions about the results of rolling two dice. The second POW of the unit is also introduced.
Comments, questions, feedback, criticisms?
Send feedback
- E-mail the author of the module, Pictures of Probability
Footer
More about this content: Metadata | Version History
This work is licensed by Interactive Mathematics Program under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 2.0).
Last edited by Christine Osborne on Jun 18, 2008 12:44 pm GMT-5.