The Canonical Roulette

David Little
Mathematics Department
Penn State University
Eberly College of Science
University Park, PA 16802
Office: 403 McAllister
Phone: (814) 865-3329
Fax: (814) 865-3735
e-mail:dlittle@psu.edu

Canonical Roulette

Controls

Distribution Function
Choose from among several Discrete/Continuous Distributions (see below). Once a distribution has been selected, the corresponding graph will be displayed. This graph is used to create data in the following manner. First, the Canonical Roulette is used to create a random real number between 0 and 1 with uniform distribution. Second, a ball is released along the left boundary of the graph of the Distribution Function. The height of the ball (as a proportional of the height of the left boundary) is given by the outcome of the Canonical Roulette. The ball then travels horizontally to the right until it comes in contact with the graph of the Distribution Function, at which point it falls straight down onto the histogram.

Probability Function
Choose from among several Discrete/Continuous Probability Functions (see below). Once a probability function has been selected, the corresponding graph will be displayed. The graph can be used to compare the histogram of the actual data collected with the theoretical values predicted by the probability function.

Discrete Distributions

Continuous Distributions
© 2005 David P. Little