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Year 10 Smartie Probability Task

  • 7 Oct 2021


During the Term 3 remote learning, Mrs Nayyar’s Maths Methods students conducted an experiment to test the probability of the various smartie colours received in a 50g packet, as part of the current probability unit we are studying.

Individually, we were first dealt with the task of sorting our smarties in colour, in order to convert the data into a bar graph, either online or in our books. We then had to answer questions in regard to the data that was collected, such as; the total number of smarties or the colour with the highest and lowest frequency. The final step of the experiment was to create a table, with the frequencies and probability of each colour of the smarties. In the following lessons, we combined the whole class’ results into a spreadsheet, whilst engaging in discussions about the frequency and probability, in order to accurately compare our results.

In total, we sorted through 969 smarties to discover that orange was our most frequently occurring colour, with 137 smarties, while pink was our least frequently occurring colour, with only 112 smarties.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed this task, especially because it was a great way to disengage from our screens and it sparked collaborative ideas across the board, with the best part of the experiment being able to eat the smarties at the end!

James B, Elly B, Gianna C, Leo L, Nadya M, Alice P, Eran R