
Barry Kissane
LONGRUN
Purpose
To illustrate what happens in the long run when events with a certain probability are generated. For example, to see what happens when a fair coin is tossed repeatedly, by plotting the proportion of the heads after various numbers of tosses.
Operation
Enter the probability concerned and press ![]()
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to continue.
The program will display the 'ideal' theoretical probability as a horizontal line. The vertical axis is marked in steps of 0.1 or 10%.
After each simulated event, the proportion of 'successful' times is plotted. This is likely to be eventually (in the long run) close to the horizontal line.
After a screen full of simulations, the relative frequency is displayed. This will not usually be the same as the probability.
Press the ![]()
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key to switch between the graph and the numerical results.
Press the ![]()
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key to repeat the simulation.
Do this a few times to see how much it varies each time. Compare your results with someone else's.
There is a discussion of the use of this sort of program in the text,
Kissane, Barry, Harradine, Anthony & Boys, Anthony (1999) Mathematical Interactions: Data Analysis and Probability, Chatswood, NSW: Shriro, pp
19