Sample Space
Pair Share with a Twist
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Teachers are always eager to find news ways to engage students in meaningful activities.  The concept of "pair-share" sounded like a wonderful activity for engaging my students.  As with many things, I found the theory of the pair-share to be slightly different from the reality of pair-share at the high school level.

In a traditional pair-share, one student solves a problem and then waits for the partner to solve the corresponding problem.  Well, you guessed it -- teenagers wait for no one!

So, in an effort to maintain the idea of the pair-share, I added a twist.  Students can solve THEIR side of the worksheet as quickly as they wish.  The "hook" is that when both students are finished, they will have the same answers - but NOT in order.  A score of 100 requires the correct answers in the correct locations on BOTH sides of the paper.  This method creates an atmosphere where students actively discuss their solutions.  Mission accomplished!

Download Activity Sheet
for use in your classroom.

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Activity Sheet:

Directions:  You are to work with a partner.  You will solve the problems on one side of the worksheet and your partner will solve the problems on the other side.  When you are finished, you and your partner will have the SAME answers, but they will NOT be in the same order.  

List the number of elements in the sample spaces for each of the activities described below:

Partner #1___________________

Partner #2___________________
1.  Rolling one die. 1.  Tossing two coins.
 
2.  Making a 2-piece outfit from two tank tops and two pairs of shorts. 2.  Drawing one marble from a jar containing 1 green marble, 2 blue marbles, and 2 pink marbles.
 
3.  Drawing one card from a set of cards containing the letters E, F, G, H, and I. 3.  Picking a vowel from the letters D, E, F, H, I, J, K and L.
 
4.  Rolling snake eyes (1,1) when rolling a pair of dice. 4.  Choosing sneakers which come in high tops or regular tops and are available in black, blue or white.
 
5.  Determining the number of combinations of these meal items taking only ONE of each item:  Pepsi or Coke, ice cream or sherbet, and hamburger or hotdog.
 		 5.  Rolling box cars (6,6) when rolling a pair of dice.

 

 

Answer Key
1.  6 1.  4
2.  4 2.  5
3.  5 3.  8
4.  36 4.  6
5.  8 5.  36