How Do I Use This Activity?

This activity allows the user to see patterns in seemingly random dot arrangements and explore the chaos game by changing the number of vertices, and the number of dots displayed.

This Java applet requires a Java-capable browser. If you don't see the applet Java may not be functional in your browser or on your machine.

Controls and Output

• The Drawing Area at the top of the applet is where dots are plotted:
  

  You can move the vertices, which appear as larger dots, by clicking and draging with the mouse.

• Initially, no dots are plotted. To plot some dots, first select the number of dots you want to add from the drop-down box, then click the Add button.
  

• The Clear button clears all the dots that have been drawn so far.

• You can choose the Probability that the game will move towards a certain vertex. The higher the number you type, the more likely the game is to choose that color. In the example below, red and yellow both have a probability of 1.0.
  

• Besides the probabilities, the Number of Vertices also affects how the dots are plotted. You can choose the number of vertices by clicking the One More or One Less buttons. You can also select the number of vertices directly from the drop-down box between those two buttons.
  

• This version of the Chaos Game is somewhat limited. You can play an Advanced Version by clicking the Go to full version button.