AN INTERESTING ITEM INVOLVING MATHSMONOPOLY By Enya Kilfeather

AN INTERESTING ITEM INVOLVING MATHS-MONOPOLY By Enya Kilfeather

MONOPOLY It's an American classic: each new generation of Monopoly players learns to love (harmlessly) indulging its cutthroat, ruthless, greedy impulses. Players begin the game as equals. Luck — and a bit of strategy — eventually enables one player to dominate all others. That player ends up amassing a huge fortune in cash and real estate.

The History of MONOPOLY ■ In the late 1800’s, a young woman named Elizabeth Magie was introduced to the writings of Henry George by her father. She eventually became one of many people who took on the task of trying to teach others what she had learned from studying Progress and Poverty and George's other works. ■ Collaborating with friends in her Brentwood, Maryland community, Elizabeth Magie created The Landlord's Game. She applied for a patent, which was granted on January 5 th, 1904. She explained that the game was to be a "practical demonstration of the present system of land-grabbing with all its usual outcomes and consequences. "

The History of MONOPOLY ■ Elizabeth patented a new edition of The Landlord's Game in 1924. ■ This new edition, published by the Washington, D. C. firm, Adgame Company, appeared in 1932 ■ It included named streets and other changes in the appearance of the board. More importantly, the new edition included a second, alternative, set of rules and a second name for the game, Prosperity.

Photos The Landlords Game, 1904 Prosperity, 1932

History of MONOPOLY ■ The idea of monopoly began to spread with any different name and the street name changed to suit each area. ■ MONOPOLY was first released on the 6 February 1935.

Monopoly Today ■ Over 250 million sets of Monopoly® have been sold since its invention and the game has been played by over half a billion people making it possibly the most popular board game in the world.

Why I think Monopoly has maths in it. ■ The game is based on getting the most value out of your money. ■ You have to manage your money so that you don’t go bankrupt. ■ You have to calculate money to pay for properties, houses, hotel and utilities. ■ The game is about probability i. e the chance of landing on certain spaces

The probability of MONOPOLY. ■ On each turn a player rolls two dice, and then moves his or her piece that many spaces on the board. So it is helpful to review the probabilities for rolling two dice. In summary, the following sums are possible: ■ A sum of two has probability 1/36. ■ A sum of three has probability 2/36. ■ A sum of four has probability 3/36. ■ A sum of five has probability 4/36. ■ A sum of six has probability 5/36.

The probability of MONOPOLY. ■ A sum of seven has probability 6/36. ■ A sum of eight has probability 5/36. ■ A sum of nine has probability 4/36. ■ A sum of ten has probability 3/36. ■ A sum of eleven has probability 2/36. ■ A sum of twelve has probability 1/36.

The probability of monopoly. ■ In the game of Monopoly, the probability of going to jail in any one turn is about 4. 5%. ■ The probability of not going in jail is: 1 -0. 045=0. 955 ■ Below are the probabilities of landing on the following spaces on the first turn: ■ Community Chest – 1/36 ■ Income Tax – 3/36 ■ Chance – 6/36 ■ Connecticut Tax – 4/36 ■ Just Visiting Jail – 3/36 ■ Electric Company – 1/36

THANKS FOR WATCHING By Enya Kilfeather