Experiment

Pronunciation: /ɪkˈspɛr ə mənt/ ?

In probability, an experiment is making an event happen, and recording the outcomes.

For example, when we flip a coin and write down whether it came out heads or tails, we are doing an experiment. The event is the coin toss. The outcome is whether it is heads or tails.

References

1. experiment. http://wordnet.princeton.edu/. WordNet. Princeton University. (Accessed: 2011-01-08). http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=experiment&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o7=&o5=&o1=1&o6=&o4=&o3=&h=.
2. Grinstead, Charles M. and Snell, J. Laurie. Introduction to Probability, pg 1. (Accessed: 2010-01-12). http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/teaching_aids/books_articles/probability_book/amsbook.mac.pdf.
3. Murray Spiegel, John Schiller. Schaum's Outline of Probability and Statistics, 3rd edition, pg 3. McGraw-Hill, August 26, 2008. (Accessed: 2010-02-02).
4. Sheldon M. Ross. Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Engineers and Scientists, 4th edition, pp 1-2. Academic Press, February 13, 2009. (Accessed: 2010-02-02).

More Information

• McAdams, David. Probability. LifeIsAStoryProblem.org. LifeIsAStoryproblem.org. 2009-04-03. http://www.lifeisastoryproblem.org/probability/index.html.

Printed Resources

Cite this article as:

Experiment. 2010-02-02. All Math Words Encyclopedia. Life is a Story Problem.org. http://www.allmathwords.org/en/e/experiment.html.

Translations

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Image Credits

• All images and manipulatives are by David McAdams unless otherwise stated. All images by David McAdams are Copyright © Life is a Story Problem.org and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License.

Revision History

2010-02-02: Added "References" (McAdams, David.)
2008-06-07: Corrected spelling (McAdams, David.)
2007-07-12: Initial version (McAdams, David.)