Electronic Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics

Boston, Massachusetts, February 15-18, 2007

Paper C016

This is an electronic reprint, reproduced by permission of Pearson Education Inc. Originally appeared in the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual International Conference on Technology in Collegiate Mathematics, Edited by Joanne Foster, ISBN 0-321-55846-4, Copyright (C) 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.


The Buffon Needle Problem Generalized

Paul Bouthellier


Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
University of Pittsburgh-Titusville
Titusville, PA 16354
USA

list of all papers by this author

Melanie Anderson


Department of Business
University of Pittsburgh-Titusville
Titusville, PA 16354
USA


list of all papers by this author

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ABSTRACT

Buffon's needle problem is a well-known problem in geometric probability--drop a needle of length l onto a floor divided by parallel lines d units apart. The probability the needle crosses a line is found to be a function of pi. In this talk we shall generalize this problem. These generalizations and applications of the problem are illustrated in Flash.

Keyword(s): Flash, geometry, probability