Josh used a standard deck of 52 cards to conduct an experiment. Half of the cards in the deck were red. The other half were black. Josh predicted that he would choose a red card in 4 out of 8 trials. When he conducted the experiment, he actually chose a red card 6 out of 8 times. Which explains the most likely reason for the discrepancy between Josh’s predicted and actual results?
1.) He incorrectly predicted the number of times he would choose a red card.
2.) He incorrectly determined the actual number of times he chose a red card.
3.) He used too few trials for the sample space.
4.) He used too many trials for the sample space.

Question

Josh used a standard deck of 52 cards to conduct an experiment. Half of the cards in the deck were red. The other half were black. Josh predicted that he would choose a red card in 4 out of 8 trials. When he conducted the experiment, he actually chose a red card 6 out of 8 times. Which explains the most likely reason for the discrepancy between Josh’s predicted and actual results?
1.) He incorrectly predicted the number of times he would choose a red card.
2.) He  incorrectly determined the actual number of times he chose a red card.
3.) He used too few trials for the sample space.
4.) He used too many trials for the sample space.

Vocaloid · Answer

keep in mind that 4 red out of 8 cards is just an average value. you are not guaranteed to get 4 reds for every 8 cards. for such a small sample size, 6 reds out of 8 isn't unusual. in order to see a ratio closer to 4 red: 8 total, he would have to increase the number of trials.