Probability in a Game Show

The game show that I am writing about is very popular in the UK called. It’s called the Weakest Link hosted by Anne Robinson and produced by the BBC. It’s has been adapted all over the world to suit other cultures. It began in the year 2000 and the game show will get a new host in 2012 when Anne Robinson’s contract with the BBC ends. This game show does not include that much probability but it’s the only game show that I actually watch. In the game show there are a few examples of probability and here they are: During the game show there is a certain chance that you will get a question but because I don’t know how many questions there are I can’t give you the correct chance of getting a specific so I think there is approximately a 1/300 hundred chance that you will get a certain question that is used in that episode. The host also says a letter a for a clue like this, “What b collects honey?” There a one in three chance that you will get the question correct  (depending on the player).

I find that generally the probability of the player answering a question in the first round is higher than the probability of a person answering a question correctly in the later rounds but that depends on the player.  There is also the probability that the player has stage fright which in my opinion is roughly ½. There is also the probability that she will ask you about your life which as I have seen on TV is really embarrassing. There is 100% percent chance that at the end she will say, “Join us again for the Weakest Link (wink) goodbye”.

Proability in a Game

CATEGORY	C (5-6)	C (3-4)	C (1-2)	C (0)
Probability explanation of the game	(5-6) Student explained fully how probability could be used in their game, by giving a strong, descriptive, general explanation in paragraph form and many (4-5) examples of probability within the use of the game with good math terminology.	(3-4) Student explained fully how probability could be used in their game, by giving a general explanation in paragraph form and few(2-3) examples of probability within the use of the game.  Description could use more detail and solid math background.	(1-2) Student explained fully how probability could be used in their game, by giving a general explanation in paragraph form and one example of probability within the use of the game.  Description isn’t very descriptive of related to probability and the number of examples is very minimal.	(0) Student failed to give a description of how probability is used or give examples of probability in the game
Knowledge and understanding	(7-8) Examples given showed depth of difficulty beyond what was discussed in class and work and answers were highly accurate.	(5-6) Examples given showed some depth of difficulty beyond what was discussed in class and work and answers were mostly accurate.	(3-4) Examples given showed minimal depth and difficulty beyond what was discussed in class and work and answers were somewhat accurate.	(1-2)Examples given showed very little depth of difficulty beyond what was discussed in class and work and answers were highly accurate.
Rules	(5-6)Rules were written clearly enough that all could easily participate. Written communication was strong, descriptive, and in depth to answer everyone's questions of how to play.	(3-4)Rules were written, but one to two parts of the game needed slightly more explanation. Written communication was decent with some depth to answer most questions of how to play.	(1-2)Rules were written, but people had much difficulty figuring out the game. Written communication was not very strong in depth and very vague (not specific).	The rules were not written.
Creativity (Not assessed, just in general.  Try to be proud of it.)	Student put a lot of thought into making the game interesting and fun to play as shown by creative questions, game pieces and/or game board.	Student put some thought into making the game interesting and fun to play by using textures, fancy writing, and/or interesting characters.	Student tried to make the game interesting and fun, but some of the things made it harder to understand/enjoy the game.	Little thought was put into making the game interesting or fun.

Knowledge and Understanding: _________   Communication (total):  ______________
***If you’re having trouble making difficult probabilities for your game, come up with some other scenarios on your own and answer them.
***Explanation of rules, probability, and examples of probability should be handed in on paper.  Rules need to be printed out for game day at least.
***If you need help writing your rules, there are games from the grade 7 games on the shelf with examples of how to write the rules as well.
Games where probability can be applied if you need help getting started:  (you can create a spin-off of these games to make them YOUR OWN)
·         Guess who  (good game for varying difficulty if you want to look it up)
·         Games which use dice(basic)- you can use a die which has more sides for more difficulty
·         Games with spinners (intermediate difficulty)
·         Card games
·         Memory

Muno

General Info
Muno is a card game that’s similar to Uno and can be played with 2-4 players. The aim of the game is to get rid of all of your cards.
You Will Need
·         The other players
·         A normal deck of playing cards with jokers
·         Pen (optional)
·         Scoring sheet (optional)
Starting and dealing

To find out who starts first everyone pulls a card out of the deck the one with the highest card starts first and the one with the lowest is the dealer after that they just play starting from the person who got the highest card and working down to the dealer. The dealer deals out ten cards to each person. Starting with the person to his left and dealing around to him.

Playing

The starting player is the person who pulled out the highest card starts and tries to make the longest chain of cards he can putting them all face down on top of the remaining deck. You make a chain by linking together cards of the same suite or number for example I would put down ten of hearts the ten of diamond and then three of diamonds. The joker can also be used as any cards you like so use them wisely. You continue like this until you run out of cards (which mean you win) or you can’t play another card because none link together. If you’re turn comes but you can’t play then you need to pick up an extra card and if you can play that card do and make another chain but if you can’t pick up another card at you’re next turn.

Probability

Probability is the measurement of how probable it is that something will happen for example there is a zero percent chance that a flying cat will come down and eat your math book but there is a very high chance that you are either reading this or listening to someone else read it. Probability is used in our lives every day whether in our judgment or when we roll a dice it’s all about probability. This card game uses probability when the dealer shuffles and deals and there is a 1 in 52 chance that you will get say the two of diamonds. It also uses probability when you are trying to find out who starts because there is a 1 in 13 that you will pull out a king but there is also a 1 in 13 chance that you will get a 2. There is also the probability that the players will pick the card game which entirely depends on the person.

Probability Examples

1.   If all the diamond court cards had been played then and the 3 of hearts what would your chance of getting the 4 of diamonds be? The answer is 1/48. Because four cards have already been played (the diamond court cards and the three of hearts) so those four cards are subtracted from the total 52 cards leaving you with 48 cards and because you are looking for a specific card that gives you a one in 48 or a 2.1% chance.

2.   You were next to get a card during the dealing, if all the cards except for two had been dealt, one was a three of diamonds the other was an eight of spades what was the chance of getting the eight of spades. The chance of getting the eight of spades was 1/2 or 50 percent. The reason for this is that you have two options and there is only one that you can get so there is a one in two chance that you will get a specific one but a one in one chance that you will get anything.

3.   If you know that two entire suits have been played but don’t know which ones what is the chance that both black suits have been played? The answer is 1/2 or 25%. Because there is a one fourth chance of any combo of two sets because there are 4 different combos.