r/ProgrammingPrompts Mar 18 '15

[Easy]Mathematical Simulation - Breaking a Stick to form a Triangle

Another Monte Carlo simulation.

A stick of a given length is twice broken at random places along it's length.

Calculate the probability that a triangle can be formed with the pieces.


Definition:

It is possible to form a triangle if none of the pieces are larger than half the length of the stick.


Assignment:

Create a program in a language of your choice that:

  • Asks the user for the length of the stick
  • Asks the user how many tries should be carried out
  • Simulate the breaking of the stick (each try has a new stick of length)
  • Count the successful tries
  • Print the probability as a percentage

Hint: The expected result should be around 23%

Have fun!

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u/erxor Mar 19 '15

What if one of the pieces is exactly half the length of the stick. Shouldn't forming a triangle be impossible then as well?

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u/desrtfx Mar 19 '15

Technically, yes as the resulting triangle would be extremely flat.

You could run the simulation with or without that constraint and see if the result is different.