Landing a coin on its side, also known as landing on its edge, is a rare but possible outcome in a coin toss.
Here’s why:
- Rarity: Most coin tosses result in either heads or tails because the coin’s center of gravity makes it more stable when resting on its flat faces.
- Probability: While it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact universal probability due to various factors, studies and computational models suggest the chances are quite low. For example, a computational model suggested the probability of an American nickel landing on its edge is approximately 1 in 6000 tosses.
- Influencing Factors: Several elements can play a role in whether a coin lands on its side, including the coin’s thickness and edge shape (thick coins with flat edges are more prone to landing on their side), the surface it lands on (hard surfaces like a table increase the chances compared to soft surfaces like carpet or grass), and the force and angle of the toss.
- Real-world examples: Although rare, there have been recorded instances of coins landing on their side, [like this coin toss during a Colombia vs. Paraguay match].
How rare is it for a coin to land on its side?
Extrapolations based on the model suggest that the probability of an American nickel landing on edge is approximately 1 in 6000 tosses.
Has a coin ever landed on its side?
When the coin comes to rest, the toss is complete and the party who called correctly or was assigned the upper side is declared the winner. It is possible for a coin to land on its side, usually by landing up against an object (such as a shoe) or by getting stuck in the ground.
What does two face do if the coin lands on its side?
With the scarred side of the coin being the result of Kent’s coin flip, Kent decides to become a criminal with the alias Two-Face who depends on flipping his coin to determine whether to be evil or good; afterwards, with the coin landing on the scarred side, Two-Face robs a bank, then, with the coin landing on the …
Why doesn’t a coin land on the same side more often?
I can help with that. Mathematicians Diaconis, Holmes, and Montgomery proposed that when people flip a regular coin, it exhibits a slight ‘wobble’ during its flight. As a result, the coin spends more time with the side it started with facing up, increasing the likelihood of it landing on that same side.