A student wants to simulate 31 birthdays, but she does not have a calculator or software program available, so she makes up 31 numbers between 1 and 365. Is it okay to conduct the simulation this way? Why or why not?

No, it is not okay to conduct the simulation this way.

Step-by-step explanation:

In statistics, simulation refers to a technique that is employed to model random events so that the results obtained from using the simulation is significantly similar to the results obtained from observing the real-world.

Researchers are therefore able to understand the real world when they observe the simulated outcomes.

From the description above, it can be seen that simulation is about studying random events. Therefore, a sample of the population that will be used in the simulation must be selected through a random sampling.

Random sampling refers to the sampling method that gives equal opportunity of being selected to each member of the population. This makes the sample selected through random sampling technique to be an unbiased representation of the total population.

As a result, making up 31 numbers between 1 and 365 by the student is not a random sampling, because his method may favor some numbers over others. It is therefore a defective method of carrying out simulation.

Therefore, the it is not okay to conduct the simulation this way.

I wish you the best.