Visualizing the estimation of pai in Monte Carlo simulation

Version 1.0.0 (2.12 KB) by Chun
A visualization of the estimation of pai used Monte Carlo simulation
1 Download
Updated 12 Oct 2025

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clear; clc; close all;
n = 50000;
N_total = 1000000;
update_rate_sim = 50;
update_rate_conv = 500;
fig = figure('Name', 'Monte Carlo Estimation of π (High-Speed Background Calculation)', 'NumberTitle', 'off', 'Color', 'w', 'Position', [100, 100, 1200, 600]);
ax1 = subplot(1, 2, 1);
axis(ax1, 'square');
axis(ax1, [-1, 1, -1, 1]);
hold(ax1, 'on');
grid(ax1, 'on'); box(ax1, 'on');
ax2 = subplot(1, 2, 2);
hold(ax2, 'on');
grid(ax2, 'on'); box(ax2, 'on');
xlabel(ax2, 'Number of Throws', 'FontSize', 12);
ylabel(ax2, 'π Estimate', 'FontSize', 12);
title(ax2, 'Convergence of π Estimate', 'FontSize', 14);
rectangle(ax1, 'Position', [-1, -1, 2, 2], 'EdgeColor', '#4DBEEE', 'LineWidth', 1.5);
viscircles(ax1, [0 0], 1, 'Color', 'r', 'LineWidth', 2);
title_handle = title(ax1, 'Preparing to start simulation...', 'FontSize', 14);
pi_line = yline(ax2, pi, '--r', 'True π Value', 'LineWidth', 2);
pi_line.LabelHorizontalAlignment = 'left';
pi_line.FontSize = 12;
axis(ax2, [0, n, 2.8, 3.6]);
points_inside_plot = plot(ax1, NaN, NaN, 'b.', 'MarkerSize', 8);
points_outside_plot = plot(ax1, NaN, NaN, 'g.', 'MarkerSize', 8);
legend(ax1, {'Circle', 'Points Inside', 'Points Outside'}, 'Location', 'northeastoutside', 'AutoUpdate', 'off');
convergence_plot = plot(ax2, NaN, NaN, '-b', 'LineWidth', 1.5);
points_in_circle = 0;
history_i = [];
history_pi = [];
pause(1);
for i = 1:n
x = 2 * rand() - 1;
y = 2 * rand() - 1;
distance_sq = x^2 + y^2;
if distance_sq <= 1
points_in_circle = points_in_circle + 1;
set(points_inside_plot, 'XData', [get(points_inside_plot, 'XData'), x], 'YData', [get(points_inside_plot, 'YData'), y]);
else
set(points_outside_plot, 'XData', [get(points_outside_plot, 'XData'), x], 'YData', [get(points_outside_plot, 'YData'), y]);
end
pi_estimate = 4 * points_in_circle / i;
if mod(i, update_rate_sim) == 0 || i == n
set(title_handle, 'String', sprintf('Points Thrown: %d / %d\nπ Estimate ≈ %.6f', i, n, pi_estimate));
drawnow limitrate;
end
if mod(i, update_rate_conv) == 0 || i == n
history_i = [history_i, i];
history_pi = [history_pi, pi_estimate];
set(convergence_plot, 'XData', history_i, 'YData', history_pi);
end
end
set(title_handle, 'String', sprintf('Visualization finished!\nCalculating up to %d points in background...', N_total));
drawnow;
n_remaining = N_total - n;
x_bg = 2 * rand(n_remaining, 1) - 1;
y_bg = 2 * rand(n_remaining, 1) - 1;
points_in_circle_bg = sum(x_bg.^2 + y_bg.^2 <= 1);
points_in_circle = points_in_circle + points_in_circle_bg;
pi_final_estimate = 4 * points_in_circle / N_total;
plot(ax2, N_total, pi_final_estimate, 'r*', 'MarkerSize', 12, 'LineWidth', 2, 'DisplayName', 'Final Estimate');
legend(ax2, {'Convergence Curve', 'True π Value', 'Final Value (Million Throws)'}, 'Location', 'best');
legend(ax2, 'boxoff');
final_title_str = sprintf('Final Result (%d Points Thrown)\nHigh-Precision π Estimate ≈ %.6f', N_total, pi_final_estimate);
set(title_handle, 'String', final_title_str);
hold(ax1, 'off');
hold(ax2, 'off');

Cite As

Chun (2025). Visualizing the estimation of pai in Monte Carlo simulation (https://ch.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/182286-visualizing-the-estimation-of-pai-in-monte-carlo-simulation), MATLAB Central File Exchange. Retrieved .

MATLAB Release Compatibility
Created with R2025b
Compatible with any release
Platform Compatibility
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Version Published Release Notes
1.0.0