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Pair-Alysis

How much choice is too much choice?

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Pair-Alysis

How much choice is too much choice?

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How many different shoes can you design on NIKEiD? NikeID allows users to customize a pair of shoes before buying them. While some people think technologies like this allow shoppers to find the perfect shoe, others aren’t so sure.

Students use tree diagrams to determine the total number of design combinations that are possible on NikeID and discuss the psychological impact of having billions of options to choose from.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • The “paradox of choice” is the phenomenon by which more choice – often assumed to always be better than less choice in western societies – can lead to less happiness, less satisfaction, and a harder time making a decision in the first place.
  • To please consumers, companies may take into account what customers think they want and what they actually want.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Apply the fundamental counting principle to determine the total number of outcomes in a real-world context

Appropriate most times as students are developing conceptual understanding.
Grade 7
Probability & Statistics
Grade 7
Probability & Statistics
Content Standards 7.SP.8 Find probabilities of compound events using organized lists, tables, tree diagrams, and simulation. (a) Understand that, just as with simple events, the probability of a compound event is the fraction of outcomes in the sample space for which the compound event occurs. (b) Represent sample spaces for compound events using methods such as organized lists, tables and tree diagrams. For an event described in everyday language (e.g., "rolling double sixes"), identify the outcomes in the sample space which compose the event. (c) Design and use a simulation to generate frequencies for compound events. For example, use random digits as a simulation tool to approximate the answer to the question: If 40% of donors have type A blood, what is the probability that it will take at least 4 donors to find one with type A blood?
Mathematical Practices MP.1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. MP.7 Look for and make use of structure. MP.3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. MP.8 Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

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