Mathematics / Year 6 / Statistics and Probability / Chance

Curriculum content descriptions

Compare observed frequencies across experiments with expected frequencies (ACMSP146)

Elaborations
  • predicting likely outcomes from a run of chance events and distinguishing these from surprising results
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Numeracy Numeracy
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
ScOT terms

Observations (Data),  Statistical frequency,  Expected frequency

Interactive

Mystery spinner: challenge

Look at results in a frequency graph compiled after testing an unseen spinner. Work out the likely proportions of colours in the mystery spinner. Use a tool to build a new spinner (a dial with a pointer). Choose up to five equal-sized sectors. Fill the sectors with up to five colours. For example, make a five-part spinner ...

Online

reSolve: Scrabble Stats

This sequence of lessons invites students to collect data about letter frequency in a variety of text sources. They use their findings to critically evaluate letter point values in Scrabble, compare them to historical values, create their own themed Scrabble point values and to decipher an encoded excerpt of text. Each ...

Text

Statistics games

This resource is a web page containing three dice games to explore chance. Each dice game has simple instructions to play the interactive strategy game. The games provide a useful way to investigate the chance of rolling a particular number after successive trials. This resource is one activity from the NRICH collection.

Online

reSolve: Probability

This sequence of four lessons explores probability in real world situations including advertising, games and population sampling. Students calculate probabilities, represent probabilities as fractions, decimals and percentages, perform chance experiments with small and large sample sizes and graph their results, examine ...

Online

reSolve: Probability - Rock Paper Scissors

In this sequence of two lessons, students determine their chances of winning the game 'rock paper scissors', then test their chances by playing against another player and in a simulated game. Students look at the psychological aspect of the game and recognise that there is a strategy to increase your chance of winning. ...

Text

ACMF: Effects of selective breeding

This resource is a web page providing information about an experiment on the growth rate of different chicken breeds carried out by students at James Ruse Agricultural High School in NSW, which shows the influence of selective breeding on chicken weight. It includes a side-by-side column graph comparing the weight of egg ...

Interactive

Leisure survey

Explore how kids use their leisure time. Choose questions to ask in a survey. For example, look at the percentages of kids that play tennis, basketball or netball. Examine a table of results. Sort the data and use it to answer questions. Display the results using a suitable type of graph such as a pie chart, bar graph or ...

Online

The First Fleet - dataset collections

The dataset provides information about 780 of the convicts transported to Australia on the First Fleet ships 'Alexander', 'Charlotte', 'Lady Penrhyn', 'Friendship', 'Prince of Wales' and 'Scarborough' in 1788. The dataset includes information on items such as the convict's name, occupation, crime, date of trial and term ...

Online

TIMES Module 4: Statistics and Probability: data investigation and interpretation, year 6 - teacher guide

This is a 23-page guide for teachers. This module uses a number of examples to illustrate different types of data and develop the statistical data investigation process. It suggests the following steps: considering the initial questions that motivate an investigation; identifying issues; planning, collecting, handling and ...

Interactive

Sites2See: Spreadsheets for mathematics

A page with example resources, exemplars and advice to help integrate spreadsheet use in teaching and learning for mathematics. Includes suggestions for use, tutorials and information on research and benefits, plus links to a range of related resources, including a teacher guide for using Microsoft Excel in the classroom. ...

Online

reSolve: Reconciliation data

This lesson prompts students to examine data from the Reconciliation Barometer report, collect their own local data and compare with the national findings. Students discuss the meaning of reconciliation, explore statements from Reconciliation Barometer report, design a survey to collect local data relating to the statements ...

Downloadable

Loaded dice

Students conduct chance experiments, record data into a frequency table and represent data using a column graph.

Online

Interpret and compare data displays: Year 6 – planning tool

This planning resource for Year 6 is for the topic of Interpret and compare data displays. Students interpret and compare datasets using different data displays and visualisations.

Video

MathXplosion, Ep 33: On the grid

Explore graphs, grids and mapping with a focus on reading and writing location data using coordinate geometry. Grids and maps illustrate the concepts of parallel/perpendicular lines (axes or labelled number lines), ordered pairs and intersection points.

Video

Catalyst: Probability and the birthday paradox

Even when a maths problem seems simple – for example, the chance of two people sharing a birthday – the maths can run counter to our human intuition. Mathematician Lily Serna poses a maths problem to the Clovelly Bowling Club: how many people do you need to gather to get a 50 per cent chance of any two people in that group ...

Online

Primary mathematics: games, simulations and modelling

These seven learning activities, which focus on 'games, simulations and modelling' using a variety of tools (software) and devices (hardware), illustrate the ways in which content, pedagogy and technology can be successfully and effectively integrated in order to promote learning. In the activities, teachers use games, ...

Interactive

The foul food maker: questions 1

Use a vending machine to get an awful meal such as fly soup, worm pasta or yucky duck. The machine serves a meal randomly from four slots. Work out the likelihood of getting each type of meal. Then choose a matching probability word: impossible, unlikely, equal, likely or certain. Run simple probability experiments. Compare ...

Video

Catalyst: Probability and the gambler's fallacy

Mathematician Lily Serna visits Luna Park to explain a great probability pitfall. She shares a century-old tale from Monte Carlo casino, and then she puts its lesson to the test. If you flip a coin and it lands on heads three times in a row, what result would you predict for the next flip? Find out why intuition might land ...

Interactive

The foul food maker: go figure

This tutorial is suitable for use with a screen reader. It explains how the use of simple words can describe the likelihood of everyday events. How likely is an event: certain, likely, equal chance, unlikely or certainly not? Answer some questions using these words and then build your own examples. Learn how to describe ...

Interactive

Spinner

This is an interactive resource that investigates experimental and theoretical probability based on a spinner. The student can select the number of segments on the spinner and simulate spinning the spinner with a mouse click. The outcome of each trial is recorded in a table along with a comparison between the cumulative ...