Should I Risk It?


This collection of resources was developed in collaboration with Professor David Spiegelhalter
of the University of Cambridge.



Often in the media there are stories about activities that can reduce or increase various risks. How can you decide whether you should be concerned about these risks?

These resources explore how to interpret media stories, so you can decide for yourself what the risk is and whether you should change your behaviour.

Journey to School

Age 11 to 16
Challenge Level

How risky is your journey to school?

How Risky is My Diet?

Age 11 to 16
Challenge Level

Newspapers said that eating a bacon sandwich every day raises the risk of bowel cancer by 20%. Should you be concerned?

Trusting the Tabloids

Age 11 to 16
Challenge Level

Can you match the cards and figure out whether the tabloid headlines can be trusted?

Risk and Crime

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level

Are you at risk of being a victim of crime? How does your perception of that risk compare with the facts and figures?

Statins and Risk

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level

"Statins cut the risks of heart attacks and strokes by 40%"
Should the Professor take statins? Can you help him decide?

 

These resources were originally developed by the Millennium Mathematics Project Motivate Programme in collaboration with Professor David Spiegelhalter, funded by a Wellcome Trust grant.

You may be interested in Understanding Uncertainty, David Spiegelhalter's website that tries to make sense of chance, risk, luck, uncertainty and probability.

The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.
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NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.