SUNSPOTS AND THE NEWCOMB-BENFORD LAW

Authors

  • Mauro A. Alves Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço (IAE), Brasil.
  • Cássia S. Lyra Infinite Technical, Brasil.

Keywords:

Teaching of astronomy, Extracurricular activity, Sunspots, Newcomb-Benford’s Law.

Abstract

The Newcomb-Benford's Law (LNB) of first digits is introduced to high school students in an extracurricular activity through the study of sunspots. The LNB establishes that the first digits of various sets of data describing natural occurrences are not distributed uniformly, but according to a logarithmic distribution of probability. The LNB is counter-intuitive and is a good example of how mathematics applied to the study of natural phenomena can provide surprising and unexpected results serving also as a motivating agent in the study of physical sciences.

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Published

2008-12-01

How to Cite

Alves, M. A., & Lyra, C. S. (2008). SUNSPOTS AND THE NEWCOMB-BENFORD LAW. Latin-American Journal of Astronomy Education, (6), 21–31. Retrieved from https://relea.ufscar.br/index.php/relea/article/view/119

Issue

No. 6 (2008)

Section

Articles

License

Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto (Open Access) sob a licença Creative Commons Attribution, que permite uso, distribuição e reprodução em qualquer meio, sem restrições desde que o trabalho original seja corretamente citado.