Probability is one of the most useful things to learn since it is seen every where in the real world. In Menlo Park, probability is first seen in 3rd grade. After that, the child in Menlo Park will have to use probability in every math class after that. Thus, mastering probability is very important.

Probability Basics in Menlo Park

Probability is found using this simple equation: number of ways it can happen/total outcome. For example, if you want to know what the probability is of flipping tails on a coin, you would count the number of ways getting tails can happen (in this case it is 1 time). The total outcome is 2 because you can either flip heads or tails. Thus, the probability of flipping tails on a coin is 1/2 or 50%.

 

Here are some problems to ask your child so that they will master their probability skills.

1. There are 5 people in your family (including yourself) and each person wants to go to a different restaurant in Menlo Park. To choose a restaurant fairly, everyone writes the name of the restaurant on a slip of paper and puts in a hat, and one restaurant is picked out. What is the probability your restaurant will be chosen?
2. If you and your sister both wrote down the same restaurant, what is the probability your restaurant will be chosen?
3. You go to your favorite ice cream parlor in Menlo Park. This parlor has 25 flavors: 8 of the flavors are chocolate related, 9 are fruity, and the other 8 have neither chocolate nor fruit. If you choose an ice cream flavor at random, what is the probability that the chosen flavor is one of the chocolate flavors? What is the probability it is a fruity flavor? What is the probability it is neither a chocolate nor fruity flavor?

As you can see, probability is everywhere. There are so many fun questions you can ask your child that relate to probability.

For more problems and book recommendations, check out Palo Alto – Menlo Park Mathnasium’s website.