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"A Penny Flipped is Science Learned" | |
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On January 15, 2004, 75 students from Conwell Middle School in Philadelphia came to The Franklin Institute to celebrate Ben Franklin's 298th birthday and to practice for the global coin flip. In this trial, each student flipped a penny five times and recorded their data.
Meanwhile, twelve teams of students at Saint Francis Xavier's College School in Liverpool, United Kingdom also conducted a coin flip trial. Mr. Martin's Year 7 Class worked in teams, flipping the coin ten times and tabulating their data. The results are presented below. |
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Conwell Middle School - Total Number of student flippers = 75 Saint Francis Xavier's College School - Total number of flipper teams = 12 |
| Conwell | St. Francis | TOTAL | Total number of flips = | 75 x 5 = 375 | 12 x 10 = 120 | 375 + 120 = 495 |
| Flips that showed heads = | 181 | 66 | 181 + 66 = 247 |
| Flips that showed tails = | 194 | 54 | 194 + 54 = 248 |
| Percentage heads = | 48.3% | 55% | 49.9% |
| Percentage tails = | 51.7% | 45% | 50.1% |
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To test the probability that the likelihood of heads is actually 50%, we'll need many more student flippers. Stay tuned for information about how to register to participate in the global coin flip on January 17, 2006!
Email webteam@www.fi.edu with questions.
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