Education Technology

Statistics: Too Many Choices!

by Texas Instruments

Overview

Students investigate the fundamental counting principle, permutations, and combinations.

Key Steps

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    Students will explore the fundamental counting principle and discover its formula. They will use diagrams to help them determine the number of different combinations of cake and frosting. After a discussion of the formula, students will use it to solve several problems.

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    Then, students will use the fundamental counting principle to discover the general formula for permutations. In this investigation students will determine the number of arrows that connect 2 points for a given number of possible points. After a discussion of the formula, students will use it to solve several problems.

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    Students will use the general formula for permutations to discover the formula for combinations. They will determine the possible combinations for a committee of 3 people selecting from 6 people. Then students will continue their investigation of the arrows by determining the number of edges, where the order of the arrows does not matter. After a discussion of the formula, students will use it to solve several problems.