Random Number Generator

Use the Random Number Generator to create a list of random numbers (up to 10,000 numbers), based on your specifications. The numbers you generate appear in the Random Number Table.

For help in using the Random Number Generator, read the Frequently-Asked Questions or review the Sample Problems.

Instructions: To find the answer to a frequently-asked question, simply click on the question.

1. A university is testing the effectiveness of two different medications. They have 10 volunteers. To conduct the study, researchers randomly assign a number from 1 to 2 to each volunteer. Volunteers who are assigned number 1 get Treatment 1 and volunteers who are assigned number 2 get Treatment 2. To implement this strategy, they input the following settings in the Random Number Generator:
   
   
   • They want to assign a number randomly to each of 10 volunteers, so they need 10 entries in the random number table. Therefore, the researchers enter 10 in the text box labeled "How many random numbers?".
   • Since each volunteer will receive one of two treatments, they set the minimum value equal to 1; and the maximum value equal to 2.
   • Since some volunteers will receive the same treatment, the researchers allow duplicate random numbers in the random number table. Therefore, they set the "Allow duplicate entries" dropdown box equal to "True".
   • And finally, they set the Seed value equal to 1. (The number 1 is not special. They could have used any positive integer.)
   
   Then, they hit the Calculate button. The Random Number Generator produces a Random Number Table consisting of 10 entries, where each entry is the number 1 or 2. The researchers assign the treatment indicated by the first entry to volunteer number 1, the treatment indicated by the second entry to volunteer number 2, and so on.
   
   Using this strategy, what treatment did the first volunteer receive? What treatment did the tenth volunteer receive?
   
   Solution:
   
   This problem can be solved by recreating the exact Random Number Table used by the researchers. By inputting all of the same entries (especially the same Seed value) that were used originally, we can recreate the Random Number Table used by the researchers. Therefore, we do the following:
   
   
   • Enter 10 in the text box labeled "How many random numbers?".
   • Set the minimum value equal to 1 and the maximum value equal to 2.
   • Set the "Allow duplicate entries" dropdown box equal to "True".
   • Set the Seed value equal to 1.
   
   Then, we hit the Calculate button. This produces the Random Number Table shown below.
   10 Random Numbers

   1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 2

   Specs: This table of 10 random numbers was produced according to the following specifications: Numbers were randomly selected from within the range of 1 to 2. Duplicate numbers were allowed. This table was generated on 5/8/2025.
   From the table, we can see that the first entry is "1". Therefore, the first volunteer received Treatment 1. And the second entry is also "1". Hence, the second volunteer also received Treatment 1. And so on. The tenth volunteer received the tenth number in the list, which is "2". So the tenth volunteer received Treatment 2.

2. We would like to survey 500 families from a population of 20,000 families. Each family has been assigned a unique number from 1 to 20,000. How can we randomly select 500 families for the survey?
   
   Solution:
   
   We input the following settings in the Random Number Generator:
   
   
   • We want to select 500 families. Therefore, we enter 500 in the text box labeled "How many random numbers?".
   • Since each family has been assigned a number from 1 to 20,000, we set the minimum value equal to 1; and the maximum value equal to 20,000.
   • Since we only want to survey each family once, we don't want duplicate random numbers in our random number table. Therefore, we set the "Allow duplicate entries" dropdown box equal to "False".
   
   Then, we hit the Calculate button. The Random Number Generator produces a Random Number Table consisting of 500 unique random numbers between 1 and 20,000. We will survey the families represented by these numbers - a sample of 500 families randomly selected from the population of 20,000 families.