Dice, Histograms & Probability
Students roll dice, record the resulting individual values as well as the sum of the values, create histograms of the data and develop insight into the concept of “degrees of freedom."
Students roll provided dice (> 1 die per roll) and record the resulting individual values as well as the sum of the values. They create histograms of the data.
Students develop insight into the concept of “degrees of freedom” by rolling differing numbers of dice and noting how the histograms change.
Students can extend the activity by using a spreadsheet to simulate pseudo-random numbers, comparable to the random numbers they would obtain with dice rolls.
Teachers can further extend the activity by providing loaded dice; sufficiently large numbers of rolls with these can create a “bump” in the histogram.