Abstract
This undergraduate physical chemistry laboratory exercise introduces students to the study of probability distributions both experimentally and using computer simulations. Students perform the classic coin toss experiment individually and then pool all of their data together to study the effect of experimental sample size on the binomial distribution. Simulations of the coin toss experiment are also performed using the software package LabVIEW. LabVIEW facilitates the creation of complex computer programs in a short period of time, even by beginner programmers. Histograms in LabVIEW are displayed in real time with students adjusting the number of simulated coin tosses on the fly using a virtual knob or a slider, up to 1 million individual trials. This allows the students to see firsthand the evolution of the binomial distribution into the Gaussian distribution with a large sample size.
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