Probability

This resource contains four interactive excel files dealing with:

Probability Line and Simple Examples
This excel file begins with the probability number line labelled with fractions, decimals and percentages. The next two interactive sheets pose problems about selecting a coloured ball from a bag with answers shown as a fraction, simplified fraction and percentage. Other sheets pose questions about selecting a letters from a given word and rolling a single die. The final interactive sheet shows the possibility space when two dice are thrown and the answers to the questions posed are shown as fractions and simplified fractions.

There are a further five sheets of questions which may be suitable for use in the classroom.

Probability: Biased Coins
This short interactive program illustrates the effect of bias when a number of coins are tossed. The first sheet deals with the experiment when 10 coins are tossed when the probability of getting a head can be altered. The probability of getting a particular number of heads is shown in a table (alongside the cumulative probability) and in a bar chart. The second interactive sheet deals with a similar experiment when 20 coins are tossed.

There are three more sheets of questions which may be suitable for use in the classroom.

Probability: Relative Frequency
This excel file simulates selecting an object from a given number of objects in a bag. The outcomes are shown in a tally chart and the problem is to predict how many of each coloured object there are in the bag. The contents of the bag can be revealed on a separate sheet.

Probability: Two Events
This interactive file starts gently with a sheet showing the 52 cards in a standard deck. Questions are posed about the probability of selecting a single card and answers can be revealed. The next two sheets deal with probabilities associated with selecting two cards, one with replacement and the other without replacement. The outcomes are shown on tree diagrams and the probabilities on each branch can be revealed. The problem of rolling two dice is similarly dealt with on the next two sheets with one of them using biased dice. The final interactive sheet uses a tree diagram to illustrate the solution to problems related to selection of objects from two different bags.

There are a further eight sheets of questions which may be suitable for use in the classroom.

Note: this program was designed by be viewed on a screen with a resolution of 1024 x 768. Users may have to adjust the resolution of their screen for the pages to display as was originally intended. The program uses macros which need to be enabled on users' machines.