Jump to Content
Your Recent History
View Cart
The Physics Teacher -- January 2012 -- Volume 50, Issue 1, pp. 14
The Monty Hall Problem as a Class Activity Using Clickers
Alerts
Alert Me When Cited
Alert Me When Corrected
Tools
Download Citation
Add to MyScitation
Blog This Article
Print-Friendly
Research Toolkit
Share
Email Abstract
Connotea
CiteULike
del.icio.us
BibSonomy
Tweet this Article
Add to FacebookDemonstrating probabilistic outcomes using real-time data is especially well-suited to larger lecture classes where one can generate large data sets easily. The difficulty comes in quickly collecting, analyzing, and displaying the information. With the advent of wireless polling technology (clickers), this difficulty is removed. In this paper we describe an activity developed in one of our physics classes to test one of the classic cases of probability in popular culture, The Monty Hall Problem. Using clickers, a paper handout, and stickers, one can easily probe the class opinion on the outcome and then vividly and definitively test it. At the end of the activity, the students have confronted through direct experience the often counterintuitive nature of probability.
© 2012 American Association of Physics Teachers
KEYWORDS and PACS
Keywords
ARTICLE DATA
Digital Object Identifier
- Ori Brafman, Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, 1st ed. (Doubleday, New York, 2008).
- “Ask Marilyn” Column, PARADE magazine, p. 16 (Sept. 2, 1990).
- “Ask Marilyn” Column, PARADE magazine, p. 25 (Dec. 2, 1990).
- “Ask Marilyn” Column, PARADE magazine, p. 12 (Feb. 17, 1991).
- J. P. Morgan, N. R. Chaganty, R. C. Dahiya, M. J. Doviak, “Let's make a deal: The player's dilemma,” Am. Stat. 45, 284–287 (Nov. 1991).
- Letter from Monty Hall to Steve Selvin (May 12, 1975), reprinted at www.letsmakeadeal.com/problem.htm.
- John Tierney, “Behind Monty Hall's doors: Puzzle, debate and answer?” New York Times, Sec. 1, p. 1 (July 21, 1991).
- math.ucsd.edu/~crypto/Monty/monty.html; people.hofstra.edu/steven_r_costenoble/MontyHall/MontyHallSim.html; www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/science/08monty.html.
- The TV show “Numb3rs” also featured the problem in the final episode of the 2004–2005 season.
Figures (click on thumbnails to view enlargements)
Students were asked: Consider the Monty Hall Problem. You are asked to pick one of three closed doors. Behind one door is a fabulous prize and behind the other two is a goat — but obviously you don't know which. After you pick one of the three doors, the game show host, Monty Hall, opens one of the other two to reveal a goat. (The prize is therefore behind your door or the other one.) He then offers to let you switch doors. Should you?
Photo of the paper prop that was passed out to the students. Six-in ruler shown for scale. Stickers are removable. Template for personal use is shown in Fig. 5.
Results from class acting on their own strategies. For this trial, the success rate for students who switched was 71%, while those who stuck won only 29% of the time.
Combined results when asking students to only stick, and then only switch. It is now abundantly clear that switching is the better choice.
Example of template to use for trial. Retrieve a full-size pdf of this template online at[URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.3670075.1 ].
Tables
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Guidestar
This Publication
Scitation
SPIN
Google Scholar
PubMed