Objectives
- Simulate events to produce an approximate solution
- Collect multiple samples to produce a sampling distribution (optional)
- Use analytic means to provide a solution using integral calculus
Vocabulary
- Integral
- Proportion
- Probability
- Variation (variance)
- Integration (integral)
About the Lesson
Students start by estimating the probability to Buffon’s Needle problem using a digital simulation. A program is then used to simulate 1000’s of results, combining class aggregates produces 10,000’s of results. The aggregated result is approximately equal to 2 / pi. The activity then includes a dynamic representation of the needle and boards integrated with a corresponding graph to help students arrive and understand the analytic solution.
Schools using a TI-Navigator system can also use this activity to help students understand sampling distributions. As a bonus feature, schools without a Navigator system can use the extra program on page 4.1 to generate multiple samples and the corresponding sampling distributions. This is a brilliant way of showing students how the standard deviation changes with increased sample size.