A statistical question is a question that that can be answered with a variety of answers. We call this variety a distribution.
An example of a statistical question is, "How many hours of sleep do you get a night?" That is what Gavin asked his classmates for his statistics project last year. Here are his findings:
An example of a statistical question is, "How many hours of sleep do you get a night?" That is what Gavin asked his classmates for his statistics project last year. Here are his findings:
As you can see from Gavin's work, different people get different amounts of sleep. (BTW, the average 6th grader should get 8 or 9 hours of sleep per night in order to function successfully the next day) That's why "How many hours of sleep?" is a statistical question: people give a distribution of different answers.
Here is Veronica's take on the same idea, though worded a bit different:
Here is Veronica's take on the same idea, though worded a bit different:
What different types of data can we gather?
"There are two types of data: numerical and categorical. In a numerical data set, every value in the set is a number. Categorical data sets can take on non‐numerical values, such as names of colors, labels, etc. (e.g., “large,” “medium,” or “small”)."
-- EngageNY
The statistical question I want to pose to our class is,
"There are two types of data: numerical and categorical. In a numerical data set, every value in the set is a number. Categorical data sets can take on non‐numerical values, such as names of colors, labels, etc. (e.g., “large,” “medium,” or “small”)."
-- EngageNY
The statistical question I want to pose to our class is,
How many different kinds of vegetables did you eat yesterday?
This is a statistical question because you could answer this question differently from your seat partner and you would both be right. If I were to ask all of my students the same question, "How many different kinds of vegetables did you eat yesterday?" I would soon have many pieces of data that might get confusing if i don't use some sort of tool to keep track of them.
That's what statistics is -- tools to help us describe many pieces of information in a clear (and fun) way.
That's what statistics is -- tools to help us describe many pieces of information in a clear (and fun) way.
Notebook:
Classwork & Homework:
--EngageNY
--Big Ideas
--EngageNY
Unit 1 Statistics Project:
For this unit, You are going to ask your classmates a statistical question that can be answered by numbers. You are going to record the distribution of answers, looking for patterns and calculating various numbers.
I would like you to brainstorm five statistical questions. I want to give you one rule though. The answer to your question must be a number. For instance, "What kind of ice cream flavor?" will not work, but "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like rocky road?" would work. What do you want to know about your classmates?
I would like you to brainstorm five statistical questions. I want to give you one rule though. The answer to your question must be a number. For instance, "What kind of ice cream flavor?" will not work, but "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you like rocky road?" would work. What do you want to know about your classmates?
Unit 1 Statistics State Test Practice:
California Standards:
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP2 Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically.
CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.1
Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.
CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.2
Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically.
CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.1
Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, "How old am I?" is not a statistical question, but "How old are the students in my school?" is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students' ages.
CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.A.2
Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.