answersLogoWhite

0

In some situations it is possible to use fundamental laws: of physics, genetics, mathematics and so on, to build a mental model for the trial. From this it is possible to determine the outcome space - the set of all possible outcomes of the experiment - and assign probabilities to these outcomes. These are theoretical probabilities.

In some situations, however, that is not possible. It is necessary to conduct the experiment, quite possibly very many times, and the relative frequencies of the outcomes are the experimental probabilities.

For example, if you had a true coin being tossed fairly, you could use the laws of physics to conclude that the event that the coin stands on its edge is so very small that it can be ignored, and that leaves two possible outcomes - heads and tails - which are equally likely. A theoretical probability of 0.5 is assigned to either face showing up.

If you had a coin with an unknown bias, you could not use the physics model. You could toss it a hundred times and, if heads came up 55 times, conclude that the probability of heads, for that coin, was 0.55. If you tossed it a thousand times you might find that heads turned up 553 times so that the probablity of heads was refined to 0.553. The greater the number of tosses, the better the estimate is likely to be. These are experimental probabilities.

User Avatar

Wiki User

11y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What does experimental probability mean in math?

The probability of an event may be measured experimentally or theoretically. In experimental probability, an experiment is conducted repeatedly. The probability of the event is the number of experiments in which the event occurs as a proportion of the number of times the experiment is conducted. By contrast, the theoretical probability is calculated from theoretical models and laws of science (and some assumptions about unbiased/fairness).


Definition of theoretical probability?

The term "theoretical probability" is used in contrast to the term "experimental probability" to describe what the result of some trial or event should be based on math, versus what it actually is, based on running a simulation or actually performing the task. For example, the theoretical probability that a single standard coin flip results in heads is 1/2. The experimental probability in a single flip would be 1 if it returned heads, or 0 if it returned tails, since the experimental probability only counts what actually happened.


What is expirimental probability?

Experimental probability is what actually happens in the real world. For example, if you played a game 60 times where you flip a coin and heads scores a point, theoretically you should get 30 points, right? Well, experimental probability is the actual results. In fact, your experimental probability for that game could even be 45 points scored in 60 tries. just remember: theoretical=in a perfect math world; experimental=real world results.


What does the word theoretical probability mean in math?

Theoretical implies the mathematical calculation of the probability. Empirical means the actual outcomes to happen.


What are theoretical and expierimental probability?

Theoretical probability is the probability of something occurring when the math is done out on paper or 'in theory' such as the chance of rolling a six sided dice and getting a 2 is 1/6. Experimental probability is what actually occurs during an experiment trying to determine the probability of something. If a six sided dice is rolled ten times and the results are as follows 5,2,6,2,5,3,1,4,6,1 then the probability of rolling a 2 is 1/3. The law of large numbers states the more a probability experiment is preformed the closer to the theoretical probability the results will be.


What is the difference between theoretical probability and empirical probabilities?

empirical probability is when you actually experiment with it and get data values, and theoretical probability is when you use math to make an educated guess.


What is the math definition of experimental?

The word "experimental" is usually used to describe data that have come from an actual test or experiment. These data are opposite to "theoretical" data, which are only educated guesses at what the data should look like. In statistics, theoretical probability is used a lot. For example, if I flip a coin, in theory, it would land on each side half of the time. Perform some trials, however, and this percentage may be skewed. The experimental data that you collect probably wouldn't exactly match the theoretical probability.


Why is it hard to calculate theoretical probability for bowling?

if u wereood at math it wouldnt be


What is a math major?

A bachelors in math may be theoretical or applied. Theoretical has to do with computation of abstract thought such as probability, chaos theory, Calculus theory, etc.Applied math has to do with things like engineering, computational biology, computer math and the like.


What does theoretical probability mean in math terms?

Sometimes it is possible to define a model for a trial or experiment and then use mathematical or scientific rules to determine the probability of the possible outcomes. Such a procedure gives theoretical probabilities.


What is probability?

probably means that something or which is not sure . LIKE :- I PROBABLY GET THIS ANSWER RIGHT.


Where could someone find a help forum for probability and statistics math problems?

Someone could find a help forum for probability and statistics math problems from the website Wolfram Alpha. The website has a forum as well as an engine that completes math problems.