AS/A2 Stats 2 Stats 3

S1 Topic 3: Probability
Buffon's needle - extended
Buffon's needle experiment consists of dropping a needle on hardwood floor, with floorboards of width 1. The experiment is shown graphically in the first graph box. The angle X of the needle relative to the floorboard cracks and the distance Y from the center of the needle to the lower crack are recorded in the first table on each update. Each point (X, Y) is shown as a red dot in the scatterplot. The variable I indicates the event that the needle crosses a crack. The density of I is shown in blue in the distribution graph and is recorded in the distribution table. On each update, the empirical density of I is shown in red in the distribution graph and is also recorded in the distribution table. Finally, pi is shown in blue in the last graph and is recorded in the last table, and on each update, Buffon's estimate of pi is shown in red in the last graph and is recorded in the last table. The parameter is the needle length L, which can be varied with a scrollbar.

an applet from the Virtual Laboratories in Probability and Statistics