Gee Whiz Everybody Wins - Blocks C and E

Focus Questions:

1. What does it mean if outcomes are equally likely?
2. How do I determine the theoretical and experimental probabilities for an event?

Part 1: Gee Whiz Everybody Wins

Let's play a game!  The rules for this game are very simple:

• Guess what color of block you are going to pick.
• If you are correct you win, if not you lose.
• Questions???

What do you think is in the bag?  How did you decide this?

Part 2: Equally Likely

Outcomes are said to be equally likely if the probability of each outcome is the same.  Take a look at the two spinners below and try to decide which one shows outcomes that are equally likely:

 

Now...take a look at the different situations below and try to decide whether the outcomes listed are equally likely.  Be prepared to defend your choices as this gets tricky:

Part 3: Theoretical and Experimental Probabilities

As you saw in the video, theoretical probability is a probability that is calculated by examining all of the possible outcomes for an event.  Experimental probability is calculated from the results of an experiment.

We typically write this as a ratio, a decimal, or a percentage.  The two things you need to pay close attention to are the total number of outcomes and then how many of those outcomes are "favorable".

Answer the following questions based on Gee Whiz Everybody Wins:

1. What was the experimental probability of picking each color?  Be sure to use "probability notation".
2. What was the theoretical probability of picking each color?  Be sure to use "probability notation".

Here is what you MUST do before next class:

• ACE (11-15) p. 19
• ACE (1-2) p. 36