Exercise 17 Page 937

Let's use a random number generator to perform the simulation. To do this, because we expressed the probabilities as fractions with denominators of 20, we will assign the integers from 1 to 20 to represent the probability data. Punting:& 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 Kicking a Field Goal:& 9,10,11,12,13,14 Losing Possession:& 15 Scoring a Touchdown: & 16,17,18,19,20 Each trial — one generated number — will represent the action that will happen in the next minute of a game. Let's choose the number of trials to be 20.

Conducting and Summarizing Data from a Simulation

We will use the random number generator in our graphing calculator. To do so, push the MATH button. Then scroll left to the PRB menu and choose the fifth option, randInt(.

After choosing this option, enter the minimum and maximum values of the set and the number of trials. Next, push ENTER.

Now we can make a frequency table to show the example results of our simulation. Remember the numbers that we assigned to represent each result when keeping track of the outcomes.

Using the results from the table, we can calculate the experimental probability P of doing each activity. We will divide the frequency of doing each activity by the number of trials, 20.

Finally, we can create a bar graph showing these results.

Notice that this is only an example solution, as we can think of many other simulations we can design and conduct using the given information.