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How Much is a Penny Worth?

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Pennies have a monetary face value of one cent, but they are made of material that has a market value that is usually different. It is the value of the materials that requires attention in this problem. While it is interesting to compare the face value with the value of the materials, this does not have any bearing on the calculations. Interference between these two notions of value is a possible area of difficulty for some students.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

Bus and Car

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This task operates at two levels. In part it is a simple exploration of the relationship between speed, distance, and time. Part (c) requires understanding of the idea of average speed, and gives an opportunity to address the common confusion between average speed and the average of the speeds for the two segments of the trip. At a higher level, the task addresses N-Q.3, since realistically neither the car nor the bus is going to travel at exactly the same speed from beginning to end of each segment; there is time traveling through traffic in cities, and even on the autobahn the speed is not constant. Thus students must make judgements about the level of accuracy with which to report the result.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

The Titanic 2

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This task lets students explore the concepts of probability as a fraction of outcomes, and using two-way tables of data. The special emphasis is on developing their understanding of conditional probability and independence. This task could be used as a group activity where students cooperate to formulate a plan of how to answer each question and calculate the appropriate probabilities. The task could lead to extended class discussions about the different ways of using probability to justify general claims.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

The Titanic 3

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This is a very open ended task. It poses the question, but the students have to formulate a plan to answer it, and use the two-way table of data to find all the necessary probabilities. The special emphasis is on developing their understanding of conditional probability and independence. This task could be used as a group activity where students cooperate to formulate a plan of how to answer the question and calculate the appropriate probabilities. The task could lead to extended class discussions about the different ways of using probability to justify general claims.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

The Titanic 1

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This task guides students by asking the series of specific questions and lets them explore the concepts of probability as a fraction of outcomes, and using two-way tables of data. The emphasis is on developing their understanding of conditional probability. The task could lead to extended class discussions about the chances of events happening, and differences between unconditional and conditional probabilities. Special emphasis should be put on understanding what the sample space is for each question.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

Random Walk IV

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This task completes the line of reasoning of Random Walk III in a situation where the numbers become too large to calculate and so abstract reasoning is required in order to compare the different probabilities. It is intended for instructional purposes only with a goal of understanding how to calculate and compare the combinatorial symbols.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

Do You Fit In This Car?

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This task requires students to use the normal distribution as a model for a data distribution. Students must use given means and standard deviations to approximate population percentages. There are several ways (tables, graphing calculators, or statistical software) that students might calculate the required normal percentages. Depending on the method used, answers might vary somewhat from those shown in the solution.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

Random Walk III

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This task provides a context to calculate discrete probabilities and represent them on a bar graph. It could also be used to create a class activity where students gather, represent, and analyze data, running simulations of the random walk and recording and then displaying their results.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

Sarah the Chimpanzee (2)

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This task involves two aspects of statistical reasoning: providing a probabilistic model for the situation at hand, and defining a way to collect data to determine whether or not the observed data is reasonably likely to occur under the chosen model. When guessing between two choices, there is no reason to suspect that one outcome is more likely than the other. Thus, a model that assumes the two outcomes to be equally likely (such as flipping a coin) is appropriate.

Material Type: Activity/Lab

Author: Illustrative Mathematics

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