Activity Overview
(Suitable for CAS extension) What is the chance of sharing a birthday with someone in your class? This simple question offers a rich context for mathematical modeling, which is potentially accessible to students from the early years of secondary school to seniors. Using TI-Nspire CAS, students are offered the tools by which they can investigate the problem and build a meaningful model, graphical and algebraic.
Before the Activity
Have students physically act out coming into a room one at a time and discuss how the chance of a shared birthday changes.
During the Activity
Challenging tasks like this are best attempted in groups of two or more.