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Happy Meal

How much would it cost to get all the toys in a Happy Meal?

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Happy Meal

How much would it cost to get all the toys in a Happy Meal?

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How much would it cost to get all the toys in a Happy Meal? The McDonald’s Happy Meal is a cultural phenomenon. Parents like it because it’s a quick and easy meal, and kids like it because it comes with a toy (typically part of a larger set).

Students use trials, probabilities, and expected value to determine how many meals it takes to get a complete set of Happy Meal toys and debate whether McDonald’s should allow customers to pay a fee to choose their own figurine.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • When trying to collect a full set of Happy Meal toys, the chance of getting a new toy decreases as you collect more toys.
  • The expected cost of acquiring a new toy, then, also increases.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Create frequency distribution from experimental data and interpret the results
  • Use theoretical and experimental probability to reason about real-world decisions
  • Calculate expected value and use it to evaluate decisions in a real-world context

This complex task is best as a culminating unit activity after students have developed formal knowledge and conceptual understanding.
Algebra 1
Probability (Beg.)
Algebra 1
Probability (Beg.)
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices

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