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# Buffon type problems - Introduction and simulations

Course Topic(s): Probability | Famous Problems, Buffon's needle | Continuous Distributions, uniform and beta

Goal of problem - estimate $$\pi$$. Part of the Virtual Laboratories in Probability and Statistics. This link is to the extensive expository material which in turn links to associated applet material. In the applet simulation, the length of the needle is a parameter. Data collected includes: the angle of the needle relative to the crack in floorboards, the distance of the center to the floor board is collected, and whether or not the needle crosses. $$\Pi$$ is estimated with each update of the simulation. The number of crack crossings is explained to be a binomial distribution, with parameters equal the number of tosses and two times the length of the needle divided by $$\pi$$.

Resource URL: http://www.math.uah.edu/stat/buffon/Buffon.html

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Subject classification(s): Simulation | Limit Theorems | Elementary Probability | Probability | Statistics and Probability

Creator(s): Kyle Siegrist

Contributor(s): Kyle Siegrist

This resource was cataloged by Carolyn Cuff

Publisher:
MathDL

This review was published on September 20, 2012