Ask Marilyn in the mathematics classroom: probability questions

Abstract

Since 1986, Marilyn Vos Savant, who is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records Hall of Fame for the highest IQ, has had a weekly column that is published in Parade Magazine. In this column, she answers readers’ questions on a wide variety of subjects including mathematics and particularly probability. Many of the mathematically oriented questions are directly relevant to high school and undergraduate college level mathematics courses. For nearly 20 years, I have incorporated many of these questions into a variety of mathematics courses that I teach. In this note, I will discuss some of the questions that I use dealing with probability.