Peer Review

Law of Large Numbers

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Jan 4, 2026 by Statistics

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This is a simulation tool for illustrating the Law of Large Numbers through an animated free-throw basketball scenario.

Type of Material:

Simulation

Recommended Uses:

In class, homework, individual.

Technical Requirements:

Any browser

Identify Major Learning Goals:

The plot tracks the observed free throw percentage after each shot and displays the true free throw percentage as a solid line.

The user can see how the average outcome or observed percentage gets closer to the expected probability as the number of trials increases. The plot tracks the observed free throw percentage after each shot and displays the true free throw.

Target Student Population:

College Lower Division

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Basic probability concepts (expected value, probability distributions), comfort with interpreting graphs.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: It integrates the concept very well.
Concerns:: Limited context or explanation of underlying theory; students may need supplemental materials to fully understand why the convergence occurs.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: It is very efficient and useful for showing how sample proportions change with the sample size and how they approach the true probability.
Concerns:: There are no explicit learning objectives or guided questions; students may not know what to focus on without instructor guidance.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

It is easy to use and very engaging.

Simple interactive controls and clear plot make the tool easy to use.

Concerns:

The interface is basic and could be more visually engaging or feature richer feedback.

Other Issues and Comments:: This applet is a good visual and interactive demonstration of the Law of Large Numbers. It effectively shows how increasing the number of trials leads observed averages to approach expected values, but it should be paired with brief explanations or activities to deepen students’ conceptual understanding.
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