Gambling as a teaching aid in the introductory physics laboratory

Abstract

Dice throwing is used to illustrate relevant concepts of the statistical theory of uncertainties, in particular the meaning of a limiting distribution, the standard deviation, and the standard deviation of the mean. It is an important part in a sequence of especially programmed laboratory activities, developed for freshmen, at the Institute of Physics of the University of S˜ao Paulo. It is shown how this activity is employed within a constructive teaching approach, which aims at a growing understanding of the measuring processes and of the fundamentals of correct statistical handling of experimental data.