General Information
Test Item Specifications
- 6 red golf balls, each labeled with a different number from 1 to 6
- 7 green golf balls, each labeled with a different number from 1 to 7
- 8 blue golf balls, each labeled with a different number from 1 to 8
- 9 yellow golf balls, each labeled with a different number from 1 to 9
Students will determine the likelihood or probability of an outcome occurring.
Students will verify that probabilities are reasonable.
Students will determine the outcomes of an experiment or test.
Items may include concepts such as certain, impossible, likelihood, fair, unfair, most likely, equally likely, and least likely.
Items will include only simple events.
Items may include representing probabilities as fractions, ratios, decimals between 0 and 1 (inclusive), and/or percentages between 0 and 100 (inclusive).
Items will not include combinations or permutations.
In items involving the determination of all possible outcomes, the number of outcomes should not exceed 36.
Items should be set in a real-world or mathematical context.
Graphics should be used in some of these items, as appropriate.
Sample Test Items (1)
| Test Item # | Question | Difficulty | Type |
| Sample Item 1 | Mrs. Davis is teaching her class about probability. She prepared the set of golf balls listed below. Mrs. Davis put all the golf balls into a sack and mixed them up. Nancy will be the first student to select a golf ball from the sack without looking. Which of the following outcomes is most likely to occur? |
N/A | MC: Multiple Choice |
Related Resources
Image/Photograph
| Name | Description |
| Clipart ETC: Probability | Clipart images that relate to probability. |
Lesson Plans
| Name | Description |
| A Roll of the Dice | What are your chances of tossing a particular number on a number cube? Students collect data by experimenting and then converting the data in terms of probability. By the end of the lesson, students should have a basic understanding of simple events. |
| Marble Mania | In this lesson, "by flipping coins and pulling marbles out of a bag, students begin to develop a basic understanding of probabilities, how they are determined, and how the outcome of an experiment can be affected by the number of times it is conducted." (from Science NetLinks) |
| Introduction to Probability | This resource is designed to introduce students to the concept of probability: the probability of a rare event is represented by a positive number close to zero, the probability of a nearly certain event occurring is represented by a positive number slightly less than one. Students will indicate the approximate probability of events on a number line and determine which events are more likely than others. |
Video/Audio/Animation
| Name | Description |
| MIT BLOSSOMS - Flu Math Games | This video lesson shows students that math can play a role in understanding how an infectious disease spreads and how it can be controlled. During this lesson, students will see and use both deterministic and probabilistic models and will learn by doing through role-playing exercises. There are no formal prerequisites, as students in any high school or even middle school math class could enjoy this learning video. But more advanced classes can go into the optional applied probability modeling that accompanies the module in a downloadable pdf file. The primary exercises between video segments of this lesson are class-intensive simulation games in which members of the class 'infect' each other under alternative math modeling assumptions about disease progression. Also there is an occasional class discussion and local discussion with nearby classmates. |
Virtual Manipulative
| Name | Description |
| Plinko Probability | The students will play a classic game from a popular show. Through this they can explore the probability that the ball will land on each of the numbers and discover that more accurate results coming from repeated testing. The simulation can be adjusted to influence fairness and randomness of the results. |
Student Resources
Virtual Manipulative
| Name | Description |
| Plinko Probability: | The students will play a classic game from a popular show. Through this they can explore the probability that the ball will land on each of the numbers and discover that more accurate results coming from repeated testing. The simulation can be adjusted to influence fairness and randomness of the results. |