pennies being thrown into the air

 

Code Number: 1A20.20

Demo Title: Statistics and Probability - Coin Flip

Condition: Good

Principle: Unit of Measure

Area of Study: Mechanics

Equipment: 

A handful of pennies.

Procedure:

Take a handful of pennies and toss them into the air.  Probability predicts that half of them will be heads and half of them will be tails when they come to rest on the table.  The more runs you average together, will bring you closer to a 50:50 ratio.

References:

  • Paul B. Beeken, "One Last Comment", TPT, Vol. 37, #8, Nov. 1999, p. 456.
  • Jacob Futterman, "Let's Make a Deal - # 3", TPT, Vol. 37, #6, Sept. 1999, p. 328.
  • Daniel J. Sukle, "Let's Make a Deal - # 2", TPT, Vol. 37, #6, Sept. 1999, p. 328.
  • Robert A. Cohen, "Let’s Make a Deal - #1", TPT, Vol. 37, #6, Sept. 1999, p. 328.
  • Mark P. Silverman, Wayne Strange, Chris R. Silverman, and Trevor C. Lipscombe, "On the Run: Unexpected Outcomes of Random Events", TPT, Vol. 37, #4, Apr. 1999, p. 218.
  • David Kagan, "A Brief Experiment to Illustrate the Relationship Between Statistics and Measurement", TPT, Vol. 27, #1, Jan. 1989, p. 44.
  • Ee Hou Yong and L. Mahadevan, "Probability, Geometry, and Dynamics in the Toss of a Thick Coin", AJP, Vol. 79, #12, Dec. 2011, p. 1195.
  • L. Mahadevan and Ee Hou Yong, "Probablility, Physics, and The Coin Toss", Physics Today, Vol. 64, #7, July 2011, p. 66.