Probability - Key Stage 3
This collection of resources supports the teaching of probability in secondary mathematics.
Here are some favourite activities selected by the NRICH team.
- Odds and Evens Is this a fair game? How many ways are there of creating a fair game by adding odd and even numbers?
- Statistical Shorts Can you decide whether these short statistical statements are always, sometimes or never true?
- Non-transitive Dice Alison and Charlie are playing a game. Charlie wants to go first so Alison lets him. Was that such a good idea?
These are just a few of the activities on Handling Data that you can find on the NRICH curriculum pages.
The activities below, taken from the STEM Learning website, complement the NRICH activities above.
Fractions
The NRICH Odds and Evens activity has one method of solution that involves simplifying fractions.
The materials here will prepare students for tackling this element of the problem.
This SMILE resource contains three packs of games, investigations, worksheets and practical activities supporting the teaching and learning of fractions, from exploring halves and quarters to investigating fractions whose decimal equivalents are recurring decimals.
Good ideas for Probability
This resource supports the use of each of the NRICH Key Stage 3 probability activities.
The activities in this book from Polygon Resources focus on probability, with links to other topics. Through the activities students are encouraged to develop their own games with appropriate time to work on them and test out their hypotheses.
The 'Horse Race' and 'Crossing the River' activities are particularly suitable for investigating ideas of 'fairness'.
Probability Mystery
This resource supports the use of each of the NRICH Key Stage 3 probability activities.
There are fourteen cards with statements about the likelihood of six different runners winning a race. Students use the statements on the cards to determine who is most likely to win the race, with what probability, and in what sequence they would expect the runners to finish.
Ordering Probabilities S1
This resource is useful as an introduction to the NRICH Statistical Shorts activity.
In this DfE Standards Unit resource, students learn to understand that probabilities are assigned values between 0 and 1. They will on an decide an appropriate value for the probability of a given event and use some of the vocabulary associated with probability such as ‘certain’, ‘impossible’, ‘likely’.
Probability
This resource provides an introduction to the NRICH Non-transitive Dice activity.
The parts of the resource that would be particularly relevant are in 'Probability Pack 1':
Section 7 'Rolling two dice' that explores ideas of sample spaces
Section 8 'Strange dice game' explores ideas of 'fairness'.
Three Dice
This resource provides an introduction to the NRICH Non-transitive Dice activity.
In this Nuffield probability activity students play a bingo-style game. To maximize their chances of winning, students must decide which numbers are most likely to occur when three dice are thrown and the scores are added.
There is an interactive student worksheet that requires the 'Adobe Flash' plugin.
Rabbits
This resource is suitable to use to supplement each of the NRICH activities.
In this Cre8ate maths activity students learn that a simulation is a model of a real situation. It offers a good opportunity for group collaboration.
