Elementary Test Prep: Math 4 Test (Grades 3-4) Fair and Unfair

Lesson Page Uncertainty

A game is fair if every player has an equal chance to win.

Spinner A fair	Spinner B unfair
Spinner A is fair because all four sections of the spinner are equal in size.	Spinner B is unfair because the red section is larger than the blue or green section, so red has a better chance of being spun.
Example:	Toss a coin Courtney and Steve toss a penny 10 times. Courtney gets 1 point for each head. Steve gets 1 point for each tail. All players are equally likely to score the same, so the game is fair.

Example:

Pick a coin

Phil and Nicole place 10 quarters and 8 dimes in a bank. In turn, they shake the bank for a coin. Phil get 1 point for a dime and Nicole gets 1 point for a quarter.

There are more quarters in the bank than dimes, so the game is unfair.