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Statistics & Probability Science Fair Project

Marbles and the Bell Curve

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Marbles and the Bell Curve | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Can you predict where a marble will land after bouncing through a grid of pegs? You build a pegboard device with 12 compartments along the bottom. A funnel at the top drops marbles onto wooden dowels that deflect them randomly. You release 200 marbles at a time. About 50% land in the two center slots. Around 34% split across the three slots on each side. The remaining 16% reach the two outermost slots on each end. This pattern repeats within 5% on every trial. The results form a bell curve, and you can predict the spread before each drop.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that the probability of the marbles falling into each compartment will follow a bell curve.

Method & Materials

You will construct a device with 12 compartments and drop marbles from a funnel at the top.
You will need a 1 foot X 2 foot piece of pegboard, 12 one inch slats, wooden dowels, and marbles.

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Results

The experiment showed that the probability of the marbles falling into each compartment followed a bell curve. The results were consistent within 5% each trial.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how a bell curve can be used to predict probability.

Also Consider

Experiment variations to consider include using different sizes of marbles or different sizes of compartments.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
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