From chance to the physical laws: Toy models to connect the microscopic and macroscopic understanding of physical phenomena

We propose an educational approach which is useful to present different physical phenomena that can be explained with microscopic and stochastic models and that are often explored by students with simulations based on the launch of dices. The discussion of the physical principles that rule the phenomena proceeds through a recurrent comparison between the results they obtained with the simulated models and the results of real experiments. The teaching proposal allows students to compare the experimental data obtained with analytical results and simulations. The effectiveness of our approach has been tested both with groups of university students and with a group of teachers.