Mathematics of Games

On Saturday, October 12, we hosted our Mathematics of Games Workshop at City Heights/Weingart Branch Library! To introduce the participants to probability and game theory, we played a game where the girls attempted to guess a number from 1-100 that would be two-thirds of the average number the group guessed.

Then, we learned about Florence Nightingale, a woman in STEM who specialized in probability and discovered life-saving mathematical conclusions during World War One. After this game, they found the mathematical method of calculating probability and explored its use in everyday life, like forecast weather, coin flips, and card games. 

Diving deeper, we explored independent, dependent, and mutually exclusive events, as well as diagrams that aid in determining probability. The girls analyzed chances in rolling multiple dice, and created their own dice games!

​The objective of their games was to gain more points than their partner. The girls chose one method to implement in their own game, in order for their player to have a lower chance of winning then them. As each player formulated their games, they tested and evaluated each method mathematically to strategically win! Next, the girls discussed in groups more complex probability questions about coin flips. Finally, they investigated game theory and used what they learned in the workshop to create a probability game!

This workshop was informative, fun, and allowed the participants to be creative! Be sure look for our Circuitry Workshop, on November 23, from 2:00-4:30 pm at Mission Valley Library.