Examples of what pupils should know and be able to do
Given a table of results, use this table to estimate probabilities.
Shown two tables with equivalent outcomes and different frequencies decide whether they represent the same experiment or not.
Probing questions
When you spin a coin, the probability of getting a head is ½. So if you spin a coin ten times you would get exactly five heads. Is this statement true or false? Why?
You toss a coin 100 times and count the number of times you get a head. A robot is programmed to toss a coin 1000 times. Who is most likely to be closer to getting equal numbers of heads and tails? Why?
What if pupils find this a barrier?
Carry out an experiment, e.g. coloured counters taken from a bag. Do the experiment twice to demonstrate the difference in the results but take out a counter as many as fifty times in each experiment to demonstrate similarities.
Use the results to give experimental probabilities. Indicate these on a 0 to 1 line.
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