Monday, October 30, 2006

Using Flickr to add pictures to your Probability Post

Flickr is a online digital photo service. If you take digital photos you can create an account here and upload your phots'. It is also the place where I put the pictures of your Probability Games.

You do not need a flickr account to access these photos. Here is how you will find what you need.

1. Go to Flickr.
2. In the box called Find Picture type in charbeck10(this is my account) It will not work but will take you to the next page. Click on the button people and type charbeck10 again.
3. When you find my pictures go to your rooms set of game boards.
4. Find your game board.
5. Download it to your hard drive and then upload it to blogger.
6. You can now use this picture in your blogpost.

Good luck

Harbeck

Friday, October 20, 2006

Probability Assignment 2

Probability Assignment 2

Here is the second assignment you have to add to your first post. Please at the end of your first post create a title Fun and Games and complete the following questions as demonstrated in class.

Fun and Games

You and some classmates need to create a game for a booth at the school carnival. The game should be easy to make and set up. I should be fun, too, but it mustn’t take long to play. Of course the game must be fair. This means that any player would have about the same chance of winning as losing.


Explain the rules of your game. Tell why it would be fair and fun. Use Probabilty to prove your rules are fair.


Play your game 10 times. Record your results. Is it really a fair game?

Here is the Scoring Guide for this Assignment



Instructions
5 Marks
Above Expectations
Perfectly understandable Instructions
At Expectations
Instructions are missing some information.
Some Effort
Instructions are hard to understand
No effort Below Expectations
No Instructions
Rules
10 Marks
Rules are fair.
Probability is explained in the rules.
Rules are fair.
Probability is partally explained
Rules are not fair.
Probability is not explained in enough detail.
Rules are fair. No probability is involved.
Game Board
5 Marks
Game board or game is artistic and creative.
Game board or game has had some effort in its creation.
Game board was done at the last minute and shows little effort.
Game board or game shows a lack of pride or effort.
Extra
5 Marks
Above and beyond the call of duty. In all aspects of the game board, probability and clarity of instructions.
Less than above.








Extra

Look what you can find on probability

Here are some excellent sites to practice probability. Many are interactive and expect you to read and then try some activities. Try them you might like them.
Probability Movie
Here is a movie that explains probability.
Probability Lesson
Here is a brief lesson on about Probability. It is fun and interactive. what do you think?

Now watch this Video.
Now try this interactive activity.

Interactive Spinner
Here is an interactive spinner. Can you use it to help you determine the difference between Theoretical probability and Experimental Probability?

Crazy Choices Game
Here are the instructions for the Crazy Choices Game. Use this to determine the difference between theoretical and Experimental Probability.

How do you know your game is fair.

Try these two activities using the Crazy Choices Game.


Probability Problems

Here are the 4 problems that were presented in class today. Please be able to explain 2 of these to the class. One question must be question 4 and you can choose one of the remaining questions.

Probability
(Answer ID # 0738518)

Complete.

1.

You are playing the �shell� game. In this game, there is object (let�s say a coin) hidden under one of three cups and you have to try and guess which cup it is under. Assuming the game is fair and there are three cups, what is the probability you will guess correctly on the first try?

2.

If you flip a fair coin six times and it comes up heads each time, does this mean that for some reason the probability of getting heads is greater than the probability of getting tails on that particular day?

3.

Isaac thinks of a whole number between one and twenty-four. He then asks his mom to guess what number he is thinking of. Assuming Isaac is not known to have any number preference or predictable pattern to his number picking, what is the probability that his mom will correctly guess what number he is thinking of?

4.

Amber bought a bag containing assorted hard candies from the local corner store. They were on clearance and she got a good deal. All the candies are the same size and shape but they are different colors and flavors. There are five blue ones, two red ones, three purple ones, eleven green ones, and five orange ones. If the bag is shaken really well to mix the candy in the bag, what is the probability that the first candy she pulls out of the bag will not be green?

These Questions are from Ed Helper.

Harbeck

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Some Probability Homework

Here is a link for the questions we had in class today.

Here are the questions.

Find the probability.

1. A number from 18 to 25 is drawn at random.
P(22, 24, or 21)
Express the probability as a percent. Round to the nearest percent.
2. You roll a number cube numbered from 1 to 6.
P(not a 1)
Express the probability as a fraction.
3. A jar contains 11 black, 24 red, 25 orange, and 10 pink marbles. A marble is drawn at random.
P(orange or black)
Express the probability as a decimal. Round to the nearest hundredth.
4. You roll a number cube numbered from 1 to 6.
P(a prime number)
Express the probability as a decimal. Round to the nearest hundredth.
5. A number from 9 to 21 is drawn at random.
P(14)
Express the probability as a percent. Round to the nearest percent.
6. You roll a number cube numbered from 1 to 6.
P(a number divisible by 3)
Express the probability as a fraction.
7. A jar contains 4 blue and 17 black marbles. A marble is drawn at random.
P(not blue)
Express the probability as a decimal. Round to the nearest hundredth.
8. A jar contains 24 black and 6 purple marbles. A marble is drawn at random.
P(black)
Express the probability as a percent. Round to the nearest percent.
9. A number from 10 to 16 is drawn at random.
P(a number greater than 16)
Express the probability as a fraction.
10. A jar contains 26 red and 8 pink marbles. A marble is drawn at random.
P(red)
Express the probability as a fraction.
11. You roll a number cube numbered from 1 to 6.
P(not a 4)
Express the probability as a decimal. Round to the nearest hundredth.
12. You roll a number cube numbered from 1 to 6.
P(2 or 4)
Express the probability as a percent. Round to the nearest percent.
13. A jar contains 13 yellow and 10 green marbles. A marble is drawn at random.
P(not yellow)
Express the probability as a decimal. Round to the nearest hundredth.
14. You roll a number cube numbered from 1 to 6.
P(a number less than 6)
Express the probability as a fraction.

Thanks for taking the time to do this work. Be sure to have 1-8 done.

If you have questions leave them in the chat box. Thanks

Monday, October 16, 2006

Images and Assignments

Blogging Assignment 1
Part A
  1. Answer one of the question Groups in Full as discussed in class.
  2. What do all the questions have in common. What would you need to know about probability to be successful at solving them.
  3. Are there any common errors students might make when answering any of these questions?
  4. Create your own question(s) to challenge your classmates.
More to follow.

Here are the images you need to complete the assignment from class. I will post more info soon.






Monday, October 09, 2006

Probability

You have begun to do a unit on probability. I would like you to watch the following video. At the end you see this number 0.0000001% What does it mean? Leave a comment behind.

Time for Scribes



Mr. Kuropatwa introduced me to the world of Scribe Posts. It is an essential part of the Grade 8 Math Classroom. You will be expected to write one scribe post every 30 classes or about 4 a year. That doesn't sound like to much does it.

A Scribe post is

The assignment is simply to post a brief summary of what happened in class each day. A different student is responsible for the daily scribe post and they end their post by choosing the next scribe. The first scribe is a volunteer. The teacher's daily involvement is limited to updating a post called The Scribe List which is at the top of the links list in the sidebar of the class's blog.



To complete a scribe post the student must

Write a brief summary of what we learned in class today. Include enough detail so that someone who was away sick, or missed class for any other reason, can catch up on what they missed. Over the course of the semester, the scribe posts will grow into the textbook for the course; written by students for students. Remember that as each of you write your scribe posts. Ask yourself: "Is this good enough for our textbook? Would a graphic or other example(s) help illustrate what we learned?" And remember, you have a global audience, impress them.

Here are examples of good scribe posts Pythagoras Scribe One Day In Math Algebra Masterpiece

Here are some scribe posts that have made The Scribe Post Hall of Fame.

When you are done your scribe post choose another student to be the scribe and label your post scribepost.


Students Made This Rules for Blogging

Mr. Kuropatwa, a math teacher at DMCI, created this post for his students. It explains the power of blogging and blogging properly.


Blogging is a very public activity. Anything that gets posted on the internet stays there. Forever. Deleting a post simply removes it from the blog it was posted to. Copies of the post may exist scattered all over the internet. I have come across posts from my students on blogs as far away as Sweden! That is why we are being so careful to respect your privacy and using first names only. We do not use pictures of ourselves. If you really want a graphic image associated with your posting use an avatar -- a picture of something that represents you but IS NOT of you.

Two teachers in the U.S.A. worked with their classes to come up with a list of guidelines for student bloggers.

One of them, Bud Hunt, has these suggestions, among others:

  1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.


  2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.


  3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.


  4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.


Another teacher, Steve Lazar, developed a set of guidelines in consultation with his students. You can read them here.

Look over the guidelines and add the ones you like in the comments section below this post.
These are important guidelines and rules for blogging. Use this space wisely

Measures of Central Tendency

We have just finished our first unit on the Measures of Central Tendency. Here is a brief quiz to use your knowledge.
Measures of Central Tendency Quiz

What is the modial interval? There is always something new to learn.

Here is an excellent page to help you complete the Quiz. Read it well some great information is found here.

Can you find any other sites out there that would help us review Measures of Central Tendency?

One of the goals of blogging is that school never has to be done. Practice these questions on your own and find links if you wish. Happy MMMing!!

Mr. Harbeck

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Making a Personal Learning Network

I would like you to create a Personal Learning Network. This is a network of Blogs and other sites that have RSS feeds. You could start with the 5 blogs out of Sargent Park and branch off from there.

Here is a 7 minute screencast that shows you how to set up a Bloglines Account. After you watch it please start to make your own Personal Learning Network.




How to make a Personal Learning Network.

You need to create a Bloglines Account. Bloglines is a service that collects all the new posts from blogs that you subscribe too.


At this page please use your email address and a passwork youwill not forget. Change the time to 0600 central time. Now click register. This is the screen you should see.


In your email respond to the bloglines email by clicking on the link.
I would suggest skipping the next page and clicking on

Now for the good stuff!!

T
o start your Personal Learning Network I would like you to subscribe to the 4 math classes and the Sargent Park Math Hub. This will keep you up to date when other students create posts that you would like to view and comment on. Commenting on each others work is the most important aspect of blogging.

In the window
paste the following url
www.sargentparkmathzone.blogspot.com

Use the following feed to subscribe (click the box in the right corner).
Choose new folder
save as
now click subscribe.

You now have a new screen. This is your dashboard for Bloglines. To add the remaining blogs
816math.blogspot.com
817math.blogspot.com
841math.blogspot.com
873math.blogspot.com
follow the following proceedure.

Click add in the upper left hand corner.

Paste the address in the subscribe box then make sure you put this new blog in the following folder
Click subscribe and do the rest of the class sites.

These 5 blogs will be the start to your Personal Learning network. Next stop other sites that will help with your personal learning.

But that is another post!!!