Take some cards out: a smaller pack
Take all the kings, the clubs, the face cards or the aces out of the pack before you draw. See how the number of cards left and the favourable cards both change, and how that changes the probability.
Core concept
After cards are removed, probability = favourable cards left ÷ cards left
Topic: Probability
A pack of playing cards has 52 cards in four suits: spades ♠ and clubs ♣ are black, and hearts ♥ and diamonds ♦ are red. Each suit has 13 cards: the ace, the number cards 2 to 10, and three face cards, the jack, the queen and the king. If some cards are taken out before you draw, the pack is smaller. Now the probability: How likely something is to happen, from 0 (impossible) to 1 (certain). All key words of an event is the number of favourable cards that are left divided by the number of cards that are left. Taking cards out changes both numbers, so a probability can go up, go down or even become 0.
What you will learn
- Find the cards left and the favourable cards left after some cards are removed.
- Work out a probability in the smaller pack.
- Explain why removing cards can make an event more likely, less likely or impossible.
Before you start
- Find the probability of a single event when drawing a card from a full pack.
Materials
- A pack of 52 playing cards (jokers taken out)
Equipment
- A table to lay out the cards in their suits
Procedure
- Choose which cards to take out, and the event you want.
- Count the cards left and the favourable cards left, and work out the probability.
- Try taking out the kings, the clubs, the face cards and the aces.
How this simulation is simplified
- The pack has 52 cards and no jokers; after the cards are taken out, the rest are shuffled so each is equally likely.