PROBABILITY ACTIVITY USING MICROSOFT EXCEL

MGSE7. SP.7 develop a probability model and use it to find probabilities of events. Compare
experimental and theoretical probabilities of events. If the probabilities are not close, explain possible
sources of the discrepancy.

You will roll a six-sided dice 100 times and record your results in an Excel spreadsheet.

Before you begin rolling your dice, you will have to set up your spreadsheet. To do this, you will label Cell
B1 as 1, C1 as 2. D1 as 3, E1 as 4, F1 as 5. And G1 as 6. These numbers 1-6 will correspond to the number
you roll on the dice.

Then, you will start labeling cells 1-100 to represent your trial rolls. 1-100 should be under Cells A2-A101.

The screenshot above shows that your spreadsheet should look like once you are finished setting it up.
(Please note that it only goes to 19 trial rolls because it is too long to show the full 100)

Now that the spreadsheet is set up, you can begin rolling the dice. On the spreadsheet, you should use
“1” to represent what your roll was. For example, if Tom rolls a 3 on his roll, he should type “1” under the
3 column.

You will repeat these 100 times.

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Once you have all your trial rolls done, you will use the AutoSum feature on Excel to count the total
number of rolls for each number 1-6. To AutoSum, you will use the formula =SUM (_2: _101). The _
represents the Cell column. For example, if Tom wants to add all of his rolls of 4, he will use the formula
=SUM (E2:E101). The image below shows what it will look like with the AutoSum feature. The small dark
triangle in the top corner of the Cell shows that there is a formula in that specific cell.

Now, you will make a bar graph to represent this information. You will need to skip down about two cells.
Start by labeling the cells as One, Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six. These represent the sides of the dice.
Under the name, you will record the total number of rolls for that number. For example, if Tom rolled 15
fives, he will write 15 under Five. This is shown in Cells B105:G106 in the image below.

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Now, you can highlight the cells B105:G106 in order to create a graph. When the cells are highlighted,
students will click on the insert tab at the top of the page. There will be lots of choices for types of
graphs. Select the graphing option labeled “2-D column.” This will create a graph like the one below.
There will not be a title or axis labels. These will need to be added manually.

Change the title of the graph to something appropriate for the activity. When you click on the graph,
three options will become available. Click on the green plus sign. This will bring up a list of Chart
Elements. You want to make sure axes, axis titles, and chart title is selected. By clicking these, it will allow
you to label each axis. Label them an appropriate name.

Appropriate Name for the Graph

20
Appropriate name for Vertical Axis

18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
One Two Three Four Fi ve Si x
Appropriate Name for Horizontal Axis

Your final graph will look something like the one above.


Now that you have your graph, share your results with your peers!
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