Idea 15of 22Builds onWhat should happen and what did happen
Small experiments wander
Why do three runs of the same spinner give different results?
Today you'll discover
- what 10 spins can give
- how far small runs wander
- why that is not a mistake
Think firstThree runs of 10 spins, one spinner
Three classmates each spun the same 1/4-orange spinner 10 times. Why are their results different?
Decide first, then press Next. Compare each run of 10 with the dashed theory line.
Three rows of 10 boxes, one row per classmate, with an O in each box that landed on orange: 4, 1 and 3 of 10. A dashed line marks the theory, 1/4, across the rows, and two marks show the runs spread from 1/10 to 4/10. The last step shows runs of a half-orange spinner, one of them 7 of 10.
See the whole ideathe big idea and the key word, in one place
The big idea
Small experiments wander: a few spins can land far from the theory by chance alone.
Three runs of 10The same 1/4-orange spinner gave 4/10, 1/10 and 3/10. None of them is wrong.
Easy to get wrongDo not judge a spinner by one short run. 10 spins cannot tell a fair spinner from an unfair one.
Key word
- experiment
- doing something many times and recording what happens each time
Ready to use it?
- Explain why the results of small experiments differ.