Tuesday, January 6th: Design 2-Part Games by Multiplying Probabilities

I introduced students to the world of probablity today by tricking them with an unfair card game. We explored the connection between fractions and probability, and then students began to design two-part games using devices of chance (coins, dice, spinners). Successfully flipping heads on a coin and then rolling an even number on a die will happen half of half the time, which is the same as 1/2 times 1/2 = 1/4. The students will use this multiplication trick to develop their own games to be played tomorrow. Homework is to design 2-part games that are likely to be won 1/4-3/4 of the time.

In science, students began designing and carrying out their own experiments, testing how different liquids affect the speed at which an M&M dissolves. Many were surprised at the results, and came up with hypotheses as to why this happened. Tommorrow, they'll create experiments to test these hypotheses.