You and I play a game involving successive throws of a fair coin. Suppose I pick HH and you pick TH. The coin is thrown repeatedly until we see either two heads in a row (I win) or a tail followed by. . . .
The next ten people coming into a store will be asked their birthday. If the prize is £20, would you bet £1 that two of these ten people will have the same birthday ?
If everyone in your class picked a number from 1 to 225, do you think any two people would pick the same number?
Imagine flipping a coin a number of times. Can you work out the probability you will get a head on at least one of the flips?
Can you work out the probability of winning the Mathsland National Lottery?
You have two bags, four red balls and four white balls. You must put all the balls in the bags although you are allowed to have one bag empty. How should you distribute the balls between the two. . . .
Chris and Jo put two red and four blue ribbons in a box. They each pick a ribbon from the box without looking. Jo wins if the two ribbons are the same colour. Is the game fair?
Seven balls are shaken. You win if the two blue balls end up touching. What is the probability of winning?
What percentage of students who graduate have never been to France?
Alison and Charlie are playing a game. Charlie wants to go first so Alison lets him. Was that such a good idea?
"Statins cut the risks of heart attacks and strokes by 40%"
Should the Professor take statins? Can you help him decide?
Newspapers said that eating a bacon sandwich every day raises the risk of bowel cancer by 20%. Should you be concerned?
Your partner chooses two beads and places them side by side behind a screen. What is the minimum number of guesses you would need to be sure of guessing the two beads and their positions?
How can we find out answers to questions like this if people often lie?
In how many different ways can I colour the five edges of a pentagon red, blue and green so that no two adjacent edges are the same colour?