Data and Chance

Data and Chance (DACH) is a Baby CTY course where students are introduced to chance and probability. This course is offered at Collegeville, San Rafael and Venice. It was previously offered at Chestertown, Los Angeles (Windward), Palo Alto and Santa Monica.

Course Description

From the CTY Course Catalog (2003):

Behind only one of three doors is a fabulous prize. After you choose door #1, the host reveals door #2 has nothing behind it. She then offers you the opportunity to change your selection. Should you switch to door #3? This classic example of conditional probability, in which you determine the chance of something happening given that something else already has, is not as simple as it seems.

This course develops greater understanding of data and chance, two areas of mathematics that easily transfer from the classroom to the real world. Students conduct experiments and generate data which they display in graphs, charts, and tables to compare the effects of particular variables. For example, students might analyze data to examine how various design characteristics of a paper airplane, such as weight or length, affect the distance it will travel. Students also consider other data sources, including newspapers and journals, and identify examples of incorrectly gathered or misrepresented data that have been used to mislead consumers or influence voters.

Students also explore probability, the study of chance, to learn how numerical data are used to predict future events. Students examine permutations and combinations; develop strategies for calculating the number of possible outcomes for various events; calculate probabilities of independent, dependent, and compound events; and learn to distinguish between theoretical and experimental probability.

By the way, the answer to the question is, you should switch.