In Joe’s neighborhood, there is a 20% chance of finding a parking spot on the street after 5 p.m. Joe always arrives home from work after 5 p.m. each weeknight. Last week, Joe found a parking spot on the street on 3 out of 5 days during the week. Was this an unusual occurrence or could Joe expect this to happen again sometime soon? Describe how you could design a simulation to represent the situation and answer the question: You do not need to conduct the simulation.
Answer: The purpose of this Anchor Problem is to get students thinking about how they would design a simulation for a compound event. It would be beneficial for students to brainstorm several different ideas so they can draw on those ideas when they design their own simulations in Anchor Problem #2.
Joe could drive up to the street earlier, before work, and reserve, or put cones on a parking spot, and then he will be there in time to move the cones and park there.
