A calculator trolley is rolling down the track. Muppets — oblivious phone-zombies — are in the way. Choose which track to send the trolley down. Maximise total Muppets hit. Calculate, don't guess.
KS3 — Year 7-9
Certain vs single gamble. Clean decimals. Clear gaps.
GCSE — Year 10-11
Two-outcome gambles, fractions, word problems. Tighter margins.
Core Maths — AQA 1350
All question types. Messy values. Gaps under 0.2. No certain options.
Session length
Question 1 / 10
E(X)=?
Track A
Track B
Expected Damage Complete
You hit 0 Muppets.
Optimal play would have hit 0 Muppets.
Every choice you made in this game required calculating:
This is Expected Value — and it is not just for trolleys.
Insurance companies calculate E(damage) to set your premiums
Casinos calculate E(profit) to guarantee they always win
The NHS calculates E(lives saved) to allocate treatment budgets
Engineers calculate E(failure) to decide when to replace a bridge
Weather forecasters calculate E(rainfall) to plan flood defences
The students who scored closest to optimal were not luckier. They calculated.