Search results

Listed under:  Mathematics  >  Statistics and probability  >  Probability
Video

Mixed Up Maths, Ep 9: The giraffe ate it

When something has no chance of happening we say its impossible. Sometimes the chance of something happening is unlikely. Listen to these excuses explaining why the host did not do his homework. Which of his excuses might the teacher think, the chance of this happening is ... 'possible'?

Video

Numbers Count: Chance and playing with dice

Have you ever played a game that required you to roll a dice? Did you know that you have equal chances of rolling any of the six numbers? Can you think of another experiment where you have an equal chance of getting one result or the other?

Video

What Are the Chances?

Do you know what chance is? It's the probability or the likelihood of something happening. Watch this video as Grace explains the probability of picking a red marble out of a bowl. What's the probability of picking a green marble?

Video

Catalyst: Magical maths

At first glance, maths and magic might not appear to have much in common, but did you know that you can use maths and logic to come up with solutions to problems that can seem magical? Learn one such maths trick in this video from ABC Catalyst. What is the probability of the letter not being 'e'?

Video

MathXplosion, Ep 49: The probability of finding matching socks

Check out this probability puzzle that requires you to weigh all the possibilities. Pick the most likely outcome when confronted with a drawer full of loose, unpaired socks! How did Eric come up with a matching pair?

Interactive

Experimental probability

This is an interactive resource that enables students to conduct virtual probability experiments using a spinner or a pair of dice. The student can manipulate the relative sizes of the different coloured segments of the spinner or the numbers on the faces of the dice to investigate the effect of these changes on probability. ...

Video

Catalyst: Probability and the gambler's fallacy

Mathematician Lily Serna visits Luna Park to explain a great probability pitfall. She shares a century-old tale from Monte Carlo casino, and then she puts its lesson to the test. If you flip a coin and it lands on heads three times in a row, what result would you predict for the next flip? Find out why intuition might land ...

Video

MathXplosion, Ep 8: Birthday probability

What is the probability there are at least two people in your class who have the same birthday? If you have at least 23 people in your class, the chances are good. Find out the maths behind this theory.

Video

Can We Help Same birthday whats the chance video

Mathematician Adam Spencer answers a question about something called the 'birthday paradox'. Find out what this has to do with birthdays and the number of people in a room.

Interactive

The vile vendor: questions

Use a vending machine to get a vile-flavoured drink such as cabbage, smelly sock or rusty nail. The machine serves a can of drink randomly from four slots. Work out the likelihood of getting each flavour. Then choose a matching probability word: impossible, unlikely, equal, likely or certain. Move on to filling the slots ...

Interactive

The foul food maker: go figure

This tutorial is suitable for use with a screen reader. It explains how the use of simple words can describe the likelihood of everyday events. How likely is an event: certain, likely, equal chance, unlikely or certainly not? Answer some questions using these words and then build your own examples. Learn how to describe ...

Interactive

Mystery spinner: challenge

Look at results in a frequency graph compiled after testing an unseen spinner. Work out the likely proportions of colours in the mystery spinner. Use a tool to build a new spinner (a dial with a pointer). Choose up to five equal-sized sectors. Fill the sectors with up to five colours. For example, make a five-part spinner ...

Online

Primary mathematics: games, simulations and modelling

These seven learning activities, which focus on 'games, simulations and modelling' using a variety of tools (software) and devices (hardware), illustrate the ways in which content, pedagogy and technology can be successfully and effectively integrated in order to promote learning. In the activities, teachers use games, ...

Interactive

The slushy sludger: questions

Use a vending machine to squirt coloured 'slushies' into ice-cream cones. Work out which 'sludge events' are possible and then choose a matching probability word.

Interactive

The foul food maker: questions 1

Use a vending machine to get an awful meal such as fly soup, worm pasta or yucky duck. The machine serves a meal randomly from four slots. Work out the likelihood of getting each type of meal. Then choose a matching probability word: impossible, unlikely, equal, likely or certain. Run simple probability experiments. Compare ...

Online

reSolve: Scrabble Stats

This sequence of lessons invites students to collect data about letter frequency in a variety of text sources. They use their findings to critically evaluate letter point values in Scrabble, compare them to historical values, create their own themed Scrabble point values and to decipher an encoded excerpt of text. Each ...

Interactive

The slushy sludger: go figure

This tutorial is suitable for use with a screen reader. It explains how the use of simple words can describe the likelihood of everyday events. Will an event happen: yes, no or maybe? Answer some sample questions using these words and then build your own examples. This learning object is one in a series of three objects.

Interactive

The vile vendor: go figure

This tutorial is suitable for use with a screen reader. It explains how the use of simple words can describe the likelihood of everyday events. How likely is an event: certain, likely, equal chance, unlikely or certainly not? Answer some sample questions using these words and then build your own examples. This learning ...

Interactive

Spinners: explore

Test a coloured spinner (dial with pointer) with three equal-sized sectors. Use a tool to build more spinners. Choose up to twelve equal-sized sectors. Choose one of three colours for each part of a spinner. For example, make a three-colour spinner with six red sectors, four yellow sectors and two orange sectors. Test the ...

Video

Catalyst: Probability and the birthday paradox

Even when a maths problem seems simple – for example, the chance of two people sharing a birthday – the maths can run counter to our human intuition. Mathematician Lily Serna poses a maths problem to the Clovelly Bowling Club: how many people do you need to gather to get a 50 per cent chance of any two people in that group ...