Consequently, plants in close proximity are more likely to share genes than more distant plants. However, given the correct environmental conditions (soil pH, temperature and pollution), they can sprout a fourth leaf. Clover with this gene typically grow three leaves. Researchers at the University of Georgia have discovered a gene that allows clover plants to grow a fourth leaf. In terms of four-leaf clovers, if you find one four-leaf clover, does the probability of the next clover being a four-leaf clover stay the same (independent) or change (dependent)? If you randomly draw a King from a deck of cards and don’t replace it, the probability of drawing a King the next time has decreased. If you flip a coin and get a heads, you still have a 50/50 chance of getting a heads on the next coin toss.Īn event is dependent if the occurrence of the event affects the probability of the event happening again. In this case, I need to determine whether finding four-leaf clovers are either independent or dependent events.Īn event is independent if the occurrence of the event doesn’t affect the probability of the event happening again. That helps to explain the ease that some have of finding them! The Probability of Finding Four-Leaf CloversĪccording to probability theory, the probability of an event happening is determined in part by the type of event. Instead, you can expect to find 10,000 clovers in a 3’ X 4’ area.
However, you don’t need to scour an entire field to find a four-leaf clover. We both thought it was going to be a much larger area, which would make finding them more difficult. For the 1-in-100,000 five-leaf clovers, you’d need 125 square feet (11.6 m 2). Doing some simple math, we estimated that there are 800 clovers per square foot and 10,000 clovers can grow in just 12.5 square feet (1.2 m 2).
#4 LEAF CLOVER PATCH#
That quarter of a square foot patch had about 200 clovers.
After we picked all of the clovers out of the square, we counted them. As we picked the clovers on the top layer, we noticed there was another layer of clovers below it, and another one below that. This point is where my 8 year-old daughter and I had some good, hands-on science fun in our backyard while learning about estimating.Īs you can see in the picture, we measured out a six-inch square and laid it over a patch of fairly dense clovers. If the odds of finding a four-leaf clover are truly 1-in-10,000, how much area do you need for 10,000 clovers? I really had no idea if it was the size of a field, or a typical backyard. I was surprised to learn that there are even five-leaf clovers, and more! The Guinness world record for the most leaves on a clover is 56! How Much Area Do You Need to Find a Four-Leaf Clover? It’s widely cited that one out of every 10,000 white clovers has four-leaves. There are other types of clovers that typically have four leaves, so watch out for imposters! In their scientific name, Trifolium means three-leafed, the usual number for this species. These clovers are named after their white flowers.
Tradition holds that you are lucky if you find a white clover that has four leaves. In this blog, I explore how it’s possible to find so many four-leaf clovers despite the low odds. One of the most important things we do in statistics is to identify the factors that affect an outcome. Others claim that it only takes minutes to find one, or even half a dozen! Maybe they are luckier, or perhaps there are some factors that affect their chances of finding four-leaf clovers? If four-leaf clovers are so rare, how is it possible for some people to find so many? Some readers report that they regularly find four-leaf clovers. In Carly’s blog, reader comments raise a number of questions. It also prompted some fun, backyard science with my daughter! I blame my neighbor for them because, while I have patches of clover in my grass, he has patches of grass in his clover filled yard! The clovers got me thinking about Carly Barry’s post about the odds of finding four-leaf clovers. I was out doing yard work when I noticed patches of clovers. However, clovers are currently growing full-force in my yard! This may seem to be an odd time to write about four-leaf clovers, the traditional Irish lucky charms.
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