Group Activity Cards

Statistics and Probability Use groups of 2. Materials: Index cards, paper bag

Prepositional Probabilities

Write the letters "a," "i," "o," "n," and "t" on cards, one per card. Place the cards in a paper bag.

Suppose that you select one card from the bag, replace the card, and then draw another card. What is the theoretical probability that the letters on the cards you selected could be combined in the order in which you drew them to form one of the following prepositions: in, on, at, to?

Suppose that you select one card from the bag and then select a second card without replacing the first. What is the theoretical probability that the letters on the two cards you selected could be combined in the order in which you drew them to form a preposition?

Perform each experiment described above fifty times. Are your experimental probabilities close to your theoretical probabilities?