ADAM / SYSTEM06

Finding π by accident

Throw random points at a square and count the ones inside.

PROBABILITYπ ≈ 4 · nᵢₙ / n
THE IDEA

Estimate π with random points.

The unit circle occupies π/4 of a square with side length two. For independent uniform samples, four times the fraction inside estimates π. The standard deviation decreases as 1/√n; individual estimates can move away from π as well as toward it.

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