Have students explore the concepts of geometric probability through darts. Create a series of questions that revolve around throwing a dart at a board. Students should answer questions about the probability of hitting the circular board, hitting the bulls-eye and hitting a particular area of the board. All these questions can be answered by having the students measure the circumference of the board, the circumference of the area they wish to hit and the area of the wall on which the board is hanging. The students create a percent of probability by dividing the number of favorable outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes.
Students can roll dice and use geometric probability to determine the likelihood of rolling a particular number. Give the students various events and have them calculate the probability of the occurrence using geometric formulas. Some examples of events include: rolling an even number, rolling a 5 or 6, rolling a 1 and not rolling a 2. The students can use the area of the square faces of favorable events divided by the total area to solve for the answers.
Set up a bowling scenario by placing few pins on a piece of poster board. Ask students to determine the probability of certain occurrences. For example, hitting no pins, all pins, hitting one pin and hitting two pins. Students will use the area of the poster board and the circumference of the pins to find the geometric probability of the events. Allow the students to throw a ball at the pins after solving the problems.
Washers is a fun game that can be used as a geometric probability activity. The object of the game is to throw a washer into a hole on a board to receive points. A washer board can easily be created by attaching a short piece of PVC pipe inside of a box or by cutting a hole in a wooden box. The activity can be differentiated by adding more holes in the board. Students can calculate the geometric probability of getting the washer into a hole by determining the area of the board or box and the circumference of the circle hole.