3.6 Theoretical and Experimental Coin Tosses
P(desired) =
number of times desired outcome occurs
total number of trialsYou can try a lot of examples and trials yourself using the NCTM Illuminations page found at http://illuminations
.nctm.org/activitydetail.aspx?ID=79.
What is interesting about theoretical and experimental probabilities is that, in general, the more trials you do, the
closer the experimental probability gets to the theoretical probability. We’ll see this as we go through the examples.
Example A
You are spinning a spinner like the one shown below 20 times. How many times does it land on blue? How does
the experimental probability of landing on blue compare to the theoretical probability? Simulate the spinning of the
spinner using technology.
On the TI-84 calculator, there are a number of possible simulations you can do. You can do a coin toss, spin a
spinner, roll dice, pick marbles from a bag, or even draw cards from a deck.
After pressing
ENTER, you will have the following screen appear.