Operation Manual

Chapter 2: Math, Angle, and Test Operations 40

Chapter 2:

Math, Angle, and Test Operations

Getting Started: Coin Flip

Getting Started is a fast-paced introduction. Read the chapter for details.

Suppose you want to model flipping a fair coin 10 times. You want to track how many of those 10 coin

flips result in heads. You want to perform this simulation 40 times. With a fair coin, the probability of a

coin flip resulting in heads is 0.5 and the probability of a coin flip resulting in tails is 0.5.

Keyboard Math Operations

Using Lists with Math Operations

Math operations that are valid for lists return a list calculated element by element. If you use two lists in

the same expression, they must be the same length.

1. Begin on the home screen. Press || to display the

MATH PROB menu. Press 7 to select 7:randBin( (random

Binomial).

randBin( opens in a wizard. Press 10 to enter

the number of coin flips. Press †. Press Ë 5 to enter the

probability of heads. Press †. Press 40 to enter the

number of simulations. Press † and Í to paste the

expression on the home screen.

2. Press Í to evaluate. A list of 40 elements is

generated. The list contains the count of heads resulting

from each set of 10 coin flips. The list has 40 elements

because this simulation was performed 40 times. In this

example, the coin came up heads five times in the first set

of 10 coin flips, five times in the second set of 10 coin

flips, and so on.

3. Press ~ or | immediately to view the additional counts

in the list. An arrow (MathPrint™ mode) or an ellipses

(Classic mode) indicate that the list continues beyond the

screen.

Note: You cannot scroll a list if you enter a new line (the

scrolling key ~ is no longer active).

4. Press ¿ydÍ to store the data to the list name

L1. You then can use the data for another activity, such as

plotting a histogram (Chapter 12).

Note: Since randBin( generates random numbers, your

list elements may differ from those in the example.

Notice the busy indicator in the status bar when random

numbers are generated.

MathPrint™

Classic