Experimental Probability

Free interactive math game: Experimental Probability — From trial results. Part of the Probability category on MathKite.

Example problems

Taken from the generator that powers this exercise. A fresh set appears every time the page is opened, and the printable worksheet holds ten of them.

  1. Spinner (25 spins): red 15, blue 7, green 3. P(red) = ?
  2. Spinner (12 spins): red 8, blue 3, green 1. P(blue) = ?
  3. Spinner (15 spins): red 5, blue 2, green 8. P(green) = ?
  4. Spinner (24 spins): red 18, blue 4, green 2. P(blue) = ?

About this exercise

Probability estimated from what actually happened.

How to solve it

Divide the number of times the outcome occurred by the number of trials.

Worked example

18 heads in 40 tosses gives an experimental probability of 0.45.

Common mistake

Expecting it to match the theory exactly. Small samples wander, and large ones settle down.