The table presents the frequency of occurrences for numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 when Jade tossed a cube.

Outcomes 2 4 6 8 10 12
Frequency 10 9 6 15 13 8
Jede tossed a cube with faces numbered with 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12. The results are recorded in the table. What outcome value is the largest discrepancy between the experimental and the expected probability of this experiment?

1 answer

To find the outcome value with the largest discrepancy between the experimental and expected probability, we first need to calculate the experimental probabilities from the frequency data.

  1. Calculating total number of outcomes: We add up the frequencies: \[ \text{Total Outcomes} = 10 + 9 + 6 + 15 + 13 + 8 = 61 \]

  2. Calculating experimental probabilities: We find the probability for each outcome by dividing its frequency by the total number of outcomes: \[ P(\text{outcome}) = \frac{\text{Frequency}}{\text{Total Outcomes}} \]

    • For 2: \[ P(2) = \frac{10}{61} \approx 0.1639 \]
    • For 4: \[ P(4) = \frac{9}{61} \approx 0.1475 \]
    • For 6: \[ P(6) = \frac{6}{61} \approx 0.0984 \]
    • For 8: \[ P(8) = \frac{15}{61} \approx 0.2459 \]
    • For 10: \[ P(10) = \frac{13}{61} \approx 0.2131 \]
    • For 12: \[ P(12) = \frac{8}{61} \approx 0.1311 \]
  3. Calculating expected probabilities: Since the cube has 6 faces with numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, we assume each outcome is equally likely. Hence, the expected probability for each outcome is: \[ P(\text{expected}) = \frac{1}{6} \approx 0.1667 \]

  4. Calculating discrepancies: We now calculate the discrepancy (absolute difference) between experimental and expected probabilities:

    • For 2: \[ |0.1639 - 0.1667| \approx 0.0028 \]
    • For 4: \[ |0.1475 - 0.1667| \approx 0.0192 \]
    • For 6: \[ |0.0984 - 0.1667| \approx 0.0683 \]
    • For 8: \[ |0.2459 - 0.1667| \approx 0.0792 \]
    • For 10: \[ |0.2131 - 0.1667| \approx 0.0464 \]
    • For 12: \[ |0.1311 - 0.1667| \approx 0.0356 \]
  5. Identifying the largest discrepancy: The largest discrepancy is for the outcome of 8, which has a discrepancy of approximately 0.0792.

Thus, the outcome value with the largest discrepancy between the experimental and expected probability is 8.