What are the chances?
In a recent lecture, we were looking at probability and its application to real-life. So, first of all what is probability? Probability is a measurement that is applied to events. What is being measured is how much we believe that an event will or will not happen (Haylock, 2010.) Personally, I believe a lot of us use probability without consciously knowing we are doing so. I am a big football follower and I know I evaluate my chances constantly whilst watching it such as the chances of my team beating a team. Given the fact I am Dundee fan the chances are usually none or very unlikely! Prior to the discovering mathematics module, I never really thought about how much mathematics I do use every day and it has opened my eyes.
So, what is the mathematics behind probability? There are many aspects of mathematics which play a part in probability such as fractions, decimals, ratios and percentages. In order to understand probability, we must understand mathematical language such as impossible, evens and certain (Haylock, 2010.) There are various aspects of mathematics which you must fully understand such as percentages to understand how probability works.
How do we apply probability to real life? Probability can occur in something as simple as playing a board game such as when rolling the dice what is the chance that you roll a number six. When flipping a coin, probability occurs as you have a 50/50 chance of it landing on either heads or tails. There is on aspect of the wider world which requires probability to function, gambling. The “fundamental principle at play in all casino games is the theory of probability. After all, gambling is all about what your chances are of winning or losing” (Mathematics of gambling, 2001.) Therefore, to succeed in gambling you must have some understanding of probability. In modern day gambling technology, does most of the mathematical thinking for you but we must have some mathematical concept such as the ‘odds’. Odds are “ratios of a player’s chances of losing or chances of winning, or the average frequency of a loss to the average frequency of a win. If a player owns 1 of 4 tickets, their probability is 1 in 4 but his/her odds are 3 to 1 (Tunrner, 2007.) Therefore, in order to have some understanding of how gambling works we must understand fractions and ratios.
This was only a brief example of how mathematics applies to the wider world and without mathematics some aspects of life would be virtually impossible i.e. gambling. I feel probability links to aspects of Liping Ma’s four properties.
Basic Ideas – In order to understand probability we must have a profound understanding of basic equations, fractions, decimals, rations and percentages.
Connectedness – Probability links with various aspects of mathematics i.e. fractions and decimals. Making these links allows us to develop a fuller understanding of how probability works.
Multiple Perspectives – Depending on the person people may have different perspectives of chance. For example how likely or unlikely a event is to happen.
References
Haylock., D (2010) Mathematics explained for primary teachers. Thousand Oaks CA: SAGE Publications. Edition 4.
Mathematics of gambling (no date) Available at: http://gambling-maths.co.uk/ [Accessed on 20 November 2016]
