This collection of resources is produced by the Core Maths Support Programme to support the implementation of Core Maths. The collection contains a range of activities all designed to enable students to use and apply probability in unfamiliar contexts.

This resource is from a collection of Nuffield Maths resources exploring Hypothesis testing. The demand is roughly equivalent to that in GCE A level. The resources typically include slide shows to introduce the topics, student sheets and teacher notes, as well as other relevant resources.

In this resource,...

The presentation presents a box containing m white balls and n black balls. Students are asked to explore the probability that if two balls are chosen consecutively, without replacement, the two balls are the same colour. A spreadsheet simulating the situation is provided to enable students to experiment. The...

This excel program illustrates the effect of introducing bias when throwing coins.

The first interactive excel sheet simulates the outcome of throwing a coin ten times. The probability of each outcome is plotted and...

Students are presented with a normal six sided dice students and are asked to show that the probability of two events 'the score is odd' and 'the score is prime' are not independent. Students are then given conditions for the probabilities of the scores on a biased dice and are challenged to discover if it is now...

This activity involves the quest to show whether two events are independent. Students are required to use a Venn diagram and to apply logic to find all possible combinations of values within the diagram and thus calculate the probability of event A and event B being independent events. The answer provides a full...

In this activity students explore the probability involved in a particular game involving some special dice. The aim is to explain the reasons behind their findings when playing the game using some straightforward mathematics. Students are required to be familiar with...

In this activity Colin and Phil take it in turns to roll a dice. The winner is the first to throw a six. Students are asked to investigate conditional probability to find the probability of each player winning and hence determine whether the game is fair. The presentation provides a complete solution before...

In this activity students are presented with a variety of information regarding the number of students who study mathematics and/or physics. Students are asked to use this information to complete a Venn diagram. A complete solution to the problem is explained before a series of related challenges are posed...

Students are challenges to estimate the probability that if two dominoes are picked, at random, from a standard pack of dominoes that at least one number on each domino will match. The simulation on sheet one is then used to generate experimental results to predict whether their estimation is supported. Sheet two...

A Catalyst article about the human gut and the many microbes it hosts, mainly bacteria. Probiotics are live bacterial ingredients or supplements designed to multiply in the colon and have an impact on health. A prebiotic is a carbohydrate that is not digestible by humans. The article examines the role they play,...

This ACME report from June 2016 looks at problem solving in mathematics, with particular focus on summative assessment.

Within the report ACME welcomes the strong emphasis on problem solving in recent reforms. It calls for "strong collaboration between the mathematics community, the Department for Education...

This STEM Learning resource collection aims to support STEM Ambassadors to highlight the top 10 employability skills to young people, with examples of activities and discussions to support young people to develop these skills in either school, college or other settings.  

A Catalyst article describing how process chemists work in the pharmaceutical industry, devising methods of making new drugs. Process chemists are a link in the chain from an initial idea to a new drug making it to the market. It generally takes at least 10 years from an idea by a medicinal chemist to a new...