https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=HrRMnzANHHs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJVivjuMfWA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szUH1rzwbAw

http://mste.illinois.edu/activity/buffon/

uffon's Needle
Buffon's Needle
An Analysis and Simulation

 Introduction
 The Simplest Case
 The Other Cases
 Simulation
 References

Introduction
Buffon's Needle is one of the oldest problems in the field of geometrical probability. It was first
stated in 1777. It involves dropping a needle on a lined sheet of paper and determining the
probability of the needle crossing one of the lines on the page. The remarkable result is that the
probability is directly related to the value of pi.
This pages will present an analytical solution to the problem along with a JavaScript applet for
simulating the needle drop in the simplest case scenario in which the length of the needle is the
same as the distance between the lines.

The Simplest Case

Let's take the simple case first. In this case, the length of the needle is one unit and the distance
between the lines is also one unit. There are two variables, the angle at which the needle falls (θ)
and the distance from the center of the needle to the closest line (D). Theta can vary from 0 to 180
degrees and is measured against a line parallel to the lines on the paper. The distance from the
center to the closest line can never be more that half the distance between the lines. The graph
below depicts this situation.
 The needle in the picture misses the line. The needle will hit the line if the closest distance to a line
(D) is less than or equal to 1/2 times the sine of theta. That is, D ≤ (1/2)sin(θ). How often will this
occur?
In the graph below, we plot D along the ordinate and (1/2)sin(θ) along the abscissa. The values on
or below the curve represent a hit (D ≤ (1/2)sin(θ)). Thus, the probability of a success it the ratio
shaded area to the entire rectangle. What is this to value?

The shaded portion is found with using the definite integral of (1/2)sin(θ) evaluated from zero to pi.
The result is that the shaded portion has a value of 1. The value of the entire rectangle is (1/2)(π) or
π/2. So, the probability of a hit is 1/(π/2) or 2/π. That's approximately .6366197.
To calculate pi from the needle drops, simply take the number of drops and multiply it by two, then
divide by the number of hits, or 2(total drops)/(number of hits) = π (approximately).

The Other Cases

There are two other possibilities for the relationship between the length of the needles and the
distance between the lines. A good discussion of these can be found in Schroeder, 1974. The
situation in which the distance between the lines is greater than the length of the needle is an
extension of the above explanation and the probability of a hit is 2(L)/(K)π where L is the length of
the needle and K is the distance between the lines. The situation in which the needle is longer than
the distance between the lines leads to a more complicated result.

Simulation
In this simulation, press one of the buttons labelled "Drop" to drop a batch of needles on the parallel
lines. The measurements and calculations will be completed for you and displayed below the
illustration. Each batch of needles you drop will add to the total number of needles measured,
allowing you to approximate pi more precisely with each drop. The illustration will show the most
recent batch of needles dropped.
Further down, you can also change the scale of the needles dropped or restart the experiment from
the beginning. Note that if you change the needle scale, the experiment will automatically reset
itself the next time you drop needles, because all the needles need to be the same size and shape
for the calculations to work.

Drop
Drop Amount
Measurement Value
Needle Scale 1
Extent = Perimeter / Greatest Vertex Distance 1
Number of Drops 4086480
Number of Hits 2601611
Drops / Hits 1.5707498161715951
π ≈ 2 * Extent * Scale * Drops / Hits 3.1414996323431903
1 Start Over
Needle Scale
Drop Shape
 Straight Needles

V-Shapes

W-Shapes

3-4-5 Triangles

Circles

Draw Custom Drop Shape

Simulation Credits
 Analysis and original Java applet by George Reese (1996)
 Modified by Pavel Safronov (2003-2005)
 JavaScript+HTML5 applet remake by Evan Ramos (2014-2015)

References
Cheney, W. and Kincaid, D. (1985). Numerical Mathematics and Computing. 2nd Ed. Pace
Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company pp. 354-354
Schroeder, L. (1974). Buffon's needle problem: An exciting application of many mathematical
concepts. Mathematics Teacher, 67 (2), 183-186.

TOSSING π
Materials
large sheet of drawing paper or cardboard
meterstick
pen
toothpicks (30 or more)
calculator
To Do and Notice
Draw a series of parallel lines on the paper or cardboard, as many as will fit, making
sure that the distance between each line is exactly equal to the length of your
toothpicks. Now, one by one, randomly toss toothpicks onto the lined paper. Keep
tossing until you’re out of toothpicks—or tired of tossing.

It’s time to count. First, remove any toothpicks that missed the paper or poke out
beyond the paper’s edge. Then count up the total number of remaining toothpicks.
Also count the number of toothpicks that cross one of your lines.

Now use this formula to calculate an approximation of pi:

Pi = 2 × (total number of toothpicks) / (number of line-crossing toothpicks)
What’s Going On?