This lesson is appropriate for students at the middle or high school level.

Materials Required for this lesson:

  • An Internet browser
  • Dice
  • Pencil and Paper or a spreadsheet

Through its use of simulations and the cereal box random variable, this lesson addresses NCTM Standard for Probability for grades 9 -12.

In addition, it addresses the NCTM Standard for Probability for grades 5 - 8 through its use of modelling situations and asking students to make predictions.

Included in this lesson is an online simulation of the problem. However, this should not substitute for the hands-on activity using dice and a pencil and paper.

Please take the time to fill in the forms along the way. Send any comments or questions to George Reese.
Have Fun!

Interested in the mathematics of the cereal box problem?
Check out the following article by Jesse "Jay" Wilkins, Wilkins, J. L. M. (1999).
The cereal box problem revisited . School Science and Mathematics, 99(3), 117-123.
Click on the title to download the article in Adobe Acrobat format.


Special thanks to School Science and Mathematics, for allowing us to distrubute the article in this manner.