Uses probability and Pascal's triangle to analyze the game Plinko from the game show "The Price Is Right." (MKR)

Presents a solution to the problem of finding the probability that a needle would cross a crack in a tile floor when dropped. (MKR)

Presents a brief historical sketch of the life and work of one of the founders of modern mathematical physics. Discusses three problem-solving applications of the Poisson distribution with examples from elementary probability theory. Provides background on two of his noteworthy results from the physics of oscillations and the deformation of rigid…

Analyzes how each of the three opponents could win on the game show "Jeopardy" regardless of their relative standing when they enter the Final Jeopardy round. Analyzes optimal strategies for each contestant using probabilities. (MKR)

A complete enumeration method and a Monte Carlo method are presented to calculate the probability distribution of arbitrary statistics of adjacency matrices when these matrices have the uniform distribution conditional on given row and column sums, and possibly on a given set of structural zeros. (SLD)

Random-walk conceptions of performance, aspirations, and risk preferences are used to model a pattern of risk taking responsive to a risk taker's changing fortune. The impact of adaptive aspirations and attention focus on risk taking over time is explored for cohorts and a renewing population of risk takers. (SLD)

Discusses students' preconceptions of randomness and offers an alternative way to think about the concept using the idea of complexity. That is, the randomness of a sequence can be measured by the difficulty of encoding it. Methods of judging complexity and implications for teaching are discussed. (Contains 30 references.) (MKR)

A decision field theory is proposed and used to explain motivational and cognitive mechanisms that guide the deliberation process involved in decisions made under uncertainty. Decision theories are extended into the stochastic-dynamic category. The proposed theory is compared with four other theories of decision making under uncertainty. (SLD)

Presents an educational game on probability that can be the starting point for an open-ended statistical project. (ASK)

Investigated relationships among different types of errors occurring during probability problem solving by 50 graduate students without mathematical sophistication. Categorized errors as text comprehension, conceptual, procedural, and arithmetic/computation errors. Discusses implications for the teaching and learning of probability problem…

Investigates the effectiveness of utilizing analogies to effect conceptual change in students' alternative-probability concepts. Results indicate that analogies can be effective in producing desired conceptual change in high school students' probability concepts. (Author/CCM)

Determines the theoretical probability that a regular polygon will cross a crack when dropped onto floorboards. By following two special cases, a pattern emerges that enables students to consider the general case. (ASK)

Presents an activity in which the subject is the identity of the team in the greatest jeopardy of becoming the big loser in a basketball tournament. Explores several facts about the big loser, offering them in a hierarchy appropriate for creating various short- and long-term projects for a high school mathematics class. (ASK)

Describes the conditional probability methods (positive/negative predictive power, sensitivity, and specificity) used to differentiate children, judged by teachers as belonging to Social Competence (SC) or Low Social Competence (LSC) groups. Large differences were found in the number of social skills predicting LSC group membership for females and…

Examines the "sedimented" history of probability in America using Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray's "The Bell Curve." Suggests this model reinforces ethnic hierarchy and differences by creating a "moral cartography" for the nation. Defines this spatial rhetoric with three sociographic dynamics. Concludes with…