Name ______________________ Date _________ Period _______

Skittles Math

I. Pre-activities – Answer these questions before opening your bag.

Predict the number of Skittles candies in your bag ___________

Predict which color candy you think will be most frequent in your bag _______________

Predict which color candy you think will be least frequent in your bag _______________

Which is your favorite Skittles candy flavor (original fruit)? _______________________

II. Skittles Data Collection (Theoretical Probability)

First, before eating any candy, write down the colors of candies included in your sample.
Then count how many of each color you have, record the numbers in the chart.

Central
Fraction Decimal
Color Number Percent Angle
(reduce) (round to .01)
(round to 1°)

Total
III. Skittles Bar Graph

Use the data from your table to make a bar graph. Make sure you have a title, labels,
scale, and color in your graph. Use a straight edge, do not free-hand your lines.

IV. Skittles Circle Graph

Use the data from your chart to create a circle graph to represent your bag of Skittles.
Use a protractor and straight edge to make the “slices” for each color. Label and color
code your graph.

VI. Skittles Probability

Place all of your candies in a paper bag. Without looking, remove one candy, record the
color, and replace the candy in the bag. You will do this a total of 50 times. Use the
frequency table below to record your data with tally marks.

COLOR Red Orange Yellow Green Purple

FREQUENCY

Use the data above to compute the experimental probability of choosing each color
from your bag. Write your probability as a fraction and then convert it to a percent.

COLOR Red Orange Yellow Green Purple

EXPERIMENTAL
PROBABILITY
(fraction form)

EXPERIMENTAL
PROBABILITY
(percent form)

V. Data Analysis

1) How did the number of Skittles in your bag compare with your prediction?
2) What color candy was found most in your bag? _______________________

3) What color candy was found least in your bag? _______________________

4) How did the actual number of each color compare with your prediction?

5) Compare the percent of the experimental probability with the percent of the
theoretical probability (from your data table). Write a statement about the comparison.
Analyze the data by color. How did actually drawing candies out of the bag compare
with the number of each color in the bag? Did you draw the colors as you would have
expected?