Grade 8 | Unit 8.3 | Page 8

Unit 8.3Transparency 1

CHANCE, RANDOM PROCESSES, PROBABILITY ANDINDEPENDENT EVENTS

• What are some examples of games of chance and games of skill?

• What makes a game of chance different from a game of skill?

• Coin tossing and dice are games of chance - you cannot know what theoutcome will be beforehand, no matter how “skilled” you think you may be.

• In games of chance, the outcomes are uncertain because the outcomes ofthe games are based on random processes. That means that you cannotcontrol the process in order to bring about a desired outcome. Theoutcomes of fair coin tossing, fair dice throwing (i.e. with a coin or die thatisn't “loaded” or weighted), slot machines and the Lotto are all based onrandom processes.

• A random process means one in which there is no pattern or system.

By calculating probabilities we can understand why some events happenfrequently and others almost never happen.

• What is the difference between high-risk behaviour and low-riskbehaviour? Can you think of examples of each?

• The notion of probability can be applied not only to gambling, but toeveryday life occurrences as well.

• In random processes like games of chance the outcomes areindependent of the previous ones. This means that any particularoutcome is not connected or dependent on what the previous outcomeswere, nor does it influence the probability of any outcomes in the future.

• If you have thrown a 5 with one die three times in a row, does it affect theprobability of throwing a 5 again for the fourth time?