List outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely outcomes and represent probabilities
Use the term probability to describe the numerical value that represents the likelihood of an outcome of a chance experiment
Represent probabilities of outcomes of chance experiments using fractions
Compare observed frequencies of outcomes with expected results
Use the term frequency to describe the number of times a particular outcome occurs in a chance experiment
Distinguish between the frequency of an outcome (the number of times it occurs) and the probability of an outcome in a chance experiment
Indoor or outdoor playing area
Score sheet
Discuss the rules of rock, paper, scissors.
Students determine their chances of winning the game rock paper scissors (RPS), then test their chances by playing against another player and in a simulation card or dice game.
Invite students to play a few games with a partner, the winner being the first to win three games.
Discuss - what is your chance of winning a game of rock, paper, scissors?
Ask students to show and justify their chances of winning the game. Have the students present the probabilities as a fraction and share their justifications.
Divide the students into groups of three. One person is player 1, one is player 2 and the third is the recorder.
Students play 20 games and record the results on the score sheet.
Have them calculate and record:
the number of times rock or paper or scissors appears in the game
the number of times player 1 wins or player 2 wins or the game is drawn.
Discuss whether each result appears an equal number of times and refer back to their predicted probabilities.
Follow up lessons accessed at reSolve.
Collate the data from across the class and graph the results. It is likely that there will be less variation in the larger class dataset.
Adapted from: reSolve