Probability with Coins or Dice
Probability
w/ Coins
or Dice- Optional: If you want to completely protect your file, mark it as “Read-only”
using the Step 21 on page 176 in the Coin Toss instructions.
Using the Roll the Die Application
This worksheet can be used in the same way as Coin Toss. The teacher can do
the “rolling of the die” on the overhead, or the students can work in small
groups or independently on a computer. The students would share their data to
compile the results.
Excel Extras
Both of these files can be modified without too much trouble. You can change
the Coin Toss to simulate the tossing of two coins to figure the probabilities of
two heads, two tails, or one of each. This would require the addition of another
RANDBETWEEN function in another cell, and the formatting of another cell to
look like a coin. Instead of the Heads, Tails, and Total formulas, you would
need 2 Heads, 2 Tails, Odd, and Total.
The formula for heads would require an AND function imbedded into the IF
function. Both cells with the RANDBETWEEN would need to be zero (0) for the
count to increase in 2 Heads. Likewise, both RANDBETWEENs would need to
be one (1) for the count to increase in 2 Tails. Assuming the RANDBETWEEN
function is in cells C1 and E1 and that the 2 Heads count is in D4, the formula
would look like this:
=IF(AND(C1=0,E1=0)D4+1,D4)The function for 2 Tails would be similar, except the RANDBETWEEN result
would be 1.
The formula for Odd (a Head and Tail) turns out to be quite simple once you
think it through. In order for the count to increase in Odd, the
RANDBETWEEN results need to be different. Or, if the results are the same,