Hex Nut Probability Activity

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One of my favorite activities from the Steve Spangler workshop I attended was an inertia challenge involving a 1- or 2-liter bottle, a plastic ring, together with a hex nut.  Steve Spangler also sells a kit amongst all of the supplies for this activity.  I attended his workshop inward the hopes of finding ideas for my physical scientific discipline class, but I ended upward walking away amongst to a greater extent than ideas that I could purpose amongst my Algebra 1 classes than my scientific discipline class!     

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The premise of this activity is to take the plastic telephone which causes the hex nut(s) to driblet successfully into the bottle.  

Though I loved this idea, I wasn't planning on using it amongst my students this twelvemonth because physical scientific discipline has already finished discussing force, motion, together with inertia.  My Algebra 1 students, on the other hand, are currently studying probability.  I was looking for a fun agency to larn my students collecting roughly information to uncovering experimental probability when I remembered this activity.  

My hubby together with I had both attended Steve's workshop, then I had ii of the plastic yellowish rings inward my classroom.  My parents ain their ain trouble organisation together with produce a lot of shipping, then I had asked my mom to salvage tape gyre cores for me.  

I laid out the supplies for my students. 

Tape gyre cores: 

Small hex nuts:

Two liter bottles:

I demonstrated for my students how to railroad train the bottle, tape gyre core, together with hex nut, but I intentionally did non demonstrate how to perform the activity.  I wanted my students to figure this out for themselves!

I created this sail for students to gum inward their interactive notebooks:

I solely had 6 hex nuts, then I had students intermission upward into 6 groups for this activity.  Each fourth dimension a pupil performed the experiment, he/she had to tape whether the hex nut cruel into the bottle (success) or whether the hex nut missed the bottle (failure).  Then, I laid them free.

Here are roughly of my students' results:

Many of my students flora this to live a real tricky task!

Here are a few videos I took of my students inward action.  If you lot are reading this inward a RSS reader, you lot may demand to click through the link to meet the embedded videos.

Failed Attempt 1

Failed Attempt 2

Other students were to a greater extent than successful.  One of my students, much to the dismay of his classmates, succeeded EVERY unmarried time.  I took a video of him explaining his strategy to his peers.  Apparently, it's all almost the "scoop."

Successful Attempt

After giving students 5 to 10 minutes to collect their data, I had students construct clean upward their supplies then nosotros could calculate our experimental probabilities of succeeding together with failing at landing the hex nut inward the bottle.

Then, nosotros used these probabilities to brand predictions.  There were mixed results when I asked my students to critique their predictions.  In roughly classes, roughly students pointed out that the probability would alter amongst to a greater extent than experience.  They noted that they had improved greatly merely afterward 10 to 15 attempts.  After 500 attempts, they should live much better!  In roughly other class, the students consider that the prediction was wrong because they would probable larn bored afterward 500 attempts together with halt trying equally hard.  Both interesting lines of thinking!

My kids LOVED this activity!  Our top dog walked inward equally I was preparing to intro this activity, together with he had a real confused expect on his face.  We gave him the chance to seek it for himself.  He missed both times.

I've uploaded the notebook page I created for this activity here.  Teaching probability is turning out to live a lot of fun!

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