Activity Description Create a game spinner with variable sized sectors to look at experimental and theoretical probabilities. Parameters: Sizes of sectors, number of sectors, number of trials.

Shodor Interactivate utilizes JavaScript technology, you must enable it to effectively use our site.

If you wish to leave JavaScript disabled, you may attempt to view the activity. Here is some additional information about this activity that may not be accessible without JavaScript.

Adjustable Spinner

Place in mathematics curriculum:

• introduce the notions of chance and probability
• show the difference between experimental and theoretical probability
• motivate the connection between probability and geometry

This activity allows the user to explore experimental and theoretical probabilities by adding and removing sections of a circle. This activity would work well in groups of two for about fifteen to twenty minutes if you use the exploration questions and ten minutes otherwise.

Preparations for this activity:

• give implicit directions on what they are to do. For example "Today we are going to experiment with the spinner applet and see how changing the number of sectors effects the chances that the sector will be landed on ..."
• answer the question "How do I figure out the measurement in degrees?"
• discuss the geometry of circles