Counting principle worksheet for Statistics
Statistics uses the counting principle to find the size of a sample space, which is the denominator of every classical probability. Each question counts the outcomes by multiplying the options at each stage, with fewer options left when a code or PIN cannot repeat.
Also taught in Algebra 2, Precalculus and Geometry, each at its own level and with its own examples.
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Sigma Prep · sigmaprep.io/worksheets Name The Counting Principle Date Period Answer each question.
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Sigma Prep · sigmaprep.io/worksheets Name The Counting PrincipleAnswer keyVersion 4 Date Period Answer each question.
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How to do these
A survey has 3 yes-or-no questions and one question rated 1 to 5. How many different response patterns are possible?
- Each yes-or-no question has 2 answers and the rating has 5.
- 2 × 2 × 2 × 5.
The answer is .
Where students go wrong
Adding the options instead of multiplying them. 4 crusts and 6 toppings make 4 × 6 = 24 different pizzas, not 10, because every crust pairs with every topping.
Also called fundamental counting principle, sample spaces or multiplication principle.
What you can put on this worksheet
- How many outcomes altogether
- How many outcomes are there from a six-sided die, then a card drawn from a standard 52-card deck? →
- List the sample space
- List the sample space for picking a marble that is purple or white and flipping a coin. → {PH, PT, WH, WT}
- Codes, PINs and plates
- A license plate has 3 letters followed by 1 digit. How many plates are possible if letters and digits may repeat? →
- Arrange all of them: n!
- 4 runners finish a race with no ties. In how many different orders can they finish? →
- Sample space when the second pick must be different
- A team is Ada, Eli and Omar. One is picked as president, then a different one as vice president. List the sample space, using first letters (AE means Ada then Eli). → {AE, AO, EA, EO, OA, OE}
- Identical objects, told apart by subscripts
- A bag has 4 tiles marked W and 3 marked K. One is drawn. List the sample space, using subscripts to tell tiles with the same letter apart. →