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'In the Bag' printed from http://nrich.maths.org/
Ten marbles of varying colours are chosen at random and placed in a
bag.
Can you guess the colours of the
10 marbles in the bag?
To help you make accurate predictions you can choose to see the
results of 10 viewings - each viewing removes a marble out of the
bag, records its colour and
returns it to the bag before repeating the
process.
You can choose to have as many viewings as you like before deciding
to "Make a Guess".
Each Round concludes when you have made a guess.
This text is usually replaced by the Flash movie.
Can you reach a score of 1000
points?
You start with 500 points. Each run of 10 viewings "costs" you 10
points but you can "earn" points by predicting accurately the
contents of the bag:
150 points for a perfect match
100 points for 9 matching
marbles
0 points for 8 matching
marbles
-100 points for 7 or fewer
matching marbles.
Can you develop an effective strategy for reaching 1000
points?
Can you develop an effective strategy for reaching 1000 points in
the least number of rounds?
Describe your strategies.