What students learn in AC9M5P01
This unit helps students build a clear, usable understanding of List the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely.... The goal is not to memorise one answer pattern. Students should be able to explain the idea, recognise it in a new example and apply it in a short practice or worksheet task.
- Start with the main idea: list the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely outcomes and compare to those which are not equally likely.
- Use concrete examples, pictures, oral explanation and short written responses before moving to independent practice.
- discussing what it means for outcomes to be equally likely and comparing the number of possible and equally likely outcomes of chance events; for example, when drawing a card from a standard deck of cards there are 4 possible outcomes if you are interested in the suit, 2 possible outcomes if you are interested in the colour or 52 outcomes if you are interested in the exact card discussing how chance experiments that have equally likely outcomes can be referred to as random chance events; for example, if all the names of students in a class are placed in a hat and one is drawn at random, each person has an equally likely chance of being drawn
- Finish with mixed questions so students must choose the correct strategy rather than copy the last example.
Curriculum coverage and elaborations
The content description and elaborations below show the curriculum ideas taught in this unit. Items marked as teaching context support lesson planning but may not appear in the initial eight-question activity.
- Content description: list the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely outcomes and compare to those which are not equally likely
- E1: discussing what it means for outcomes to be equally likely and comparing the number of possible and equally likely outcomes of chance events; for example, when drawing a card from a standard deck of cards there are 4 possible outcomes if you are interested in the suit, 2 possible outcomes if you are interested in the colour or 52 outcomes if you are interested in the exact card
- E2: discussing how chance experiments that have equally likely outcomes can be referred to as random chance events; for example, if all the names of students in a class are placed in a hat and one is drawn at random, each person has an equally likely chance of being drawn
- E3: investigating how bias and fairness can relate to outcomes being equally and not equally likely, and discussing how this might inform strategies for mitigating bias in AI systems
- E4: commenting on the chance of winning games by considering the number of possible outcomes and the consequent chance of winning
- E5: investigating why some games are fair and others are not; for example, drawing a track game to resemble a running race and taking it in turns to roll 2 dice, where the first runner moves a square if the difference between the 2 dice is zero, one or 2 and the second runner moves a square if the difference is 3, 4 or 5; responding to the questions, “Is this game fair?”, “Are some differences more likely to come up than others?” and “How can you work that out?”
- E6: comparing the chance of a head or a tail when a coin is tossed, whether some numbers on a dice are more likely to be facing up when the dice is rolled, or the chance of getting a 1, 2 or 3 on a spinner with uneven regions for the numbers
- E7: discussing supermarket promotions such as collecting stickers or objects and whether there is an equal chance of getting each of them
How to use this unit
Read the topic guide, use the teacher slide for instruction, then complete the Worksheet, Practice and Test. These three activities use the same eight-question unit bank.
Teacher resource
AC9M5P01 teacher slide
Use this one-page PDF to introduce the key idea, vocabulary and teaching sequence before students begin the activities.
Open teacher slide (PDF)Common mistakes to watch for
- Rushing to a rule before checking the concrete model, drawing or number sentence.
- Using the correct answer once but not being able to explain why it works.
- Mixing up similar vocabulary such as more/less, before/after, longer/shorter or equal groups/sharing.
International curriculum mapping
This table gives closest-topic mapping for search and planning. The Australian Curriculum code is exact; overseas entries are broad equivalents because each jurisdiction structures outcomes differently.
| Region | Curriculum | Closest mapping |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Curriculum v9.0 | AC9M5P01 — list the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely outcomes and compare to those which are not equally likely |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F-10 | Year 5 Maths: closest match in Probability. Use this page as a VIC-aligned practice and worksheet reference. |
| NSW | NSW Curriculum | Stage 3 Maths: closest content focus for List the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely... and related outcomes. |
| United States | Common Core / NGSS | Grade 5 Common Core Mathematics/ELA closest topic match for List the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely.... |
| England / UK | National Curriculum | Key Stage 2 / Year 5: closest programme-of-study match for List the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely.... |
| Canada | Provincial and territory curricula | Grade 5 closest topic match. Canada varies by province, so use this as a broad Ontario/BC-style learning outcome reference. |
| New Zealand | New Zealand Curriculum | Level 3 Maths: closest achievement-objective topic for List the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely.... |
| India | NCERT / CBSE | Class 5 closest NCERT/CBSE topic match for List the possible outcomes of chance experiments involving equally likely.... |