Activity Overview
In this activity, students will study Galton boards. A Galton board is a vertical or inclined board with a series of staggered pins arranged in a triangle. As balls are dropped from the top of the board, they strike the pins and will fall either to the left or to the right and eventually land in numbered bins at the bottom. Students will use the results to approximate a normal curve, and will also see how adding obstacles to the board affects the probability of a ball landing in a certain bin.
Before the Activity
Download the attached PDF and look over the Teacher page.
During the Activity
Discuss the materials from the Student Page with your class.
After the Activity
Encourage students to explore Web sites and questions from the Extensions page.