Suppose you have a floor made of parallel strips of wood, each the same width, and you drop a needle onto the floor. What is the probability that the needle will lie across a line between the two strips?

This is a famous problem called Buffon’s Needle, formulated by the French mathematician Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon. The solution to the problem involves the uniform probability distribution. The formula to find the probability even includes the mathematical constant pi!

For a uniform probability distribution, you can find the probability of an event using the formula 

 Watch this video to learn how this works.

How Do You Find the Probability an Event in a Uniform Probability Distribution?

A probability distribution where all outcomes in the sample space have the same probability

P(A) = m / n
where A is the event, m is the number of favorable outcomes and n is the number of possible outcomes

If a die or coin is fair, it is balanced in a way that makes it equally likely to land on each face or side

If a die or coin is unfair, it is not equally likely to land on each face or side

Mathagon

Uniform Distribution

Probability of Uniform Distribution

Sum of the Probabilities

Outcome, Sample Space and Event

Union

Intersection

Venn Diagram

Complementary Events

Probability Complementary Event

Disjoint Events

Single Trial

For a uniform probability distribution, you can find the probability of an event using the formula P(A) = m / n. Watch this video to learn how this works.