Standard 1: Develop an understanding of statistics and determine measures of center and measures of variability. Summarize statistical distributions graphically and numerically.

General Information
Number: MA.6.DP.1
Title: Develop an understanding of statistics and determine measures of center and measures of variability. Summarize statistical distributions graphically and numerically.
Type: Standard
Subject: Mathematics (B.E.S.T.)
Grade: 6
Strand: Data Analysis and Probability

Related Benchmarks

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Related Access Points

This cluster includes the following access points.

Access Points

MA.6.DP.1.AP.1
Identify statistical questions from a list that would generate numerical data.
MA.6.DP.1.AP.2a
Use tools to identify and calculate the mean, median, mode and range represented in a set of data with no more than five elements.
MA.6.DP.1.AP.2b
Identify and explain what the mean and mode represent in a set of data with no more than five elements.
MA.6.DP.1.AP.3
Given a box plot, identify the value of the minimum, the lower quartile, the median, the upper quartile and the maximum.
MA.6.DP.1.AP.4
Given a histogram or a line plot, describe the physical features of the graph.
MA.6.DP.1.AP.5
Create histograms to represent sets of numerical data with 10 or fewer elements.
MA.6.DP.1.AP.6
Calculate and identify changes (increase or decrease) in the median, mode or range when a data value is added or subtracted from a data set.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Formative Assessments

Shark Attack Data:

Students are asked to construct a box plot corresponding to a given set of data.

Type: Formative Assessment

Quiz Mean and Deviation:

Students are asked to calculate measures of center and variability, identify outliers, and interpret the meaning of each in context.

Type: Formative Assessment

Florida Lakes:

Students are given a histogram and are asked to describe the variable under investigation and the number of observations.

Type: Formative Assessment

Explain Measures of Variability:

Students are asked to list measures of variability and explain what they indicate about a set of data.

Type: Formative Assessment

Explain Measures of Center:

Students are asked to list measures of center and explain what they indicate about a set of data.

Type: Formative Assessment

Compare Measures of Center and Variability:

Students are asked to explain the difference between measures of center and measures of variability.

Type: Formative Assessment

Basketball Histogram:

Students are asked to construct a histogram corresponding to a given set of data.

Type: Formative Assessment

Questions About a Class:

Students are asked to determine whether or not questions are statistical and justify their responses.

Type: Formative Assessment

TV Statistics:

Students are asked to write a statistical question and explain why it is statistical.

Type: Formative Assessment

Select the Better Measure:

Students are asked to select the better measure of center and variability to describe each of two distributions of data.

Type: Formative Assessment

Math Test Center:

Students are asked to describe and compare the centers of two data sets given their dot plots.

Type: Formative Assessment

Analyzing Physical Activity:

Students are asked to calculate measures of center and variability, identify extreme values, and interpret the meaning of each in context.

Type: Formative Assessment

Pet Frequency:

Students are asked to describe the distribution of data given in raw form.

Type: Formative Assessment

Math Test Spread:

Students are asked to describe and compare the spread of the distribution of two data sets given their dot plots.

Type: Formative Assessment

Math Test Shape:

Students are asked to describe the shapes of three distributions given their dot plots and to explain the shapes in terms of the context.

Type: Formative Assessment

Lesson Plans

A MEANingful Discussion about Central Tendency:

Using relatable scenarios, this lesson explores the mean and median of a data set and how an outlier affects each measure differently.

Type: Lesson Plan

Using Box Plots and the Mean Absolute Deviation to Interpret Data:

This lesson explores the use of box plots and the mean absolute deviation to compare two data sets and draw inferences.

Type: Lesson Plan

Climate and Careers!:

Students will explore chosen outdoor careers and how the careers connect to certain climates based on temperature and precipitation. The guiding question states "How might you use evidence from weather data and dot plot displays to allow you to identify which location's climate would be best for your career and why?" Students will collect data online and display the data using dot plots on posters with analysis using the mean. Students will engage in collaboration throughout. A power point is included with all necessary resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

Currents and Temperature:

Students will construct graphs from existing weather data sets establishing statistical relationships between air temperature over land in proximity to large bodies of warm water with continuous currents, and construct a model to visually support causality for those relationships. Students will be able to understand that ocean currents can have an effect on local weather conditions, influencing temperature (and precipitation with extended lesson), and use that understanding to make plausible explanations for the differences in temperature and precipitation between two geographically close Florida cities of a similar latitude.

Type: Lesson Plan

Measurement Data Error:

In this interdisciplinary lesson, students will practice the skill of data collection with a variety of tools and by statistically analyzing the class data sets will begin to understand that error is inherent in all data.

Type: Lesson Plan

Analyzing Box Plots:

This lesson is designed for students to demonstrate their knowledge of box plots.

  • Students will need to create four box plots from given data.
  • Students will need to analyze the data displayed on the box plots by comparing similarities and differences.
  • Students will work with a partner to complete the displays and the follow-up questions.

Type: Lesson Plan

Exercise Your Brain, Analyze Your Heart Rate:

Students will compile the data gathered from measuring their resting heart rates and heart rates after exercising into box plots. Using these displays, they will analyze the data's center, shape, and spread.

Type: Lesson Plan

Bowling for Box Plots:

Students will learn about the effects of an outlier and interpret differences in shape, center, and spread using a bowling activity to gather data. The students will learn to score their games, report their scores, and collectively measure trends and spread by collaborating to create a box plot. They will analyze and compare box plots, and determine how much of an effect an extreme score (outlier) can have on the overall box plot of the data.

Type: Lesson Plan

What's My Grade?:

"What's My Grade" is a lesson that will focus on a sample student's grades to demonstrate how a final grade is calculated as well as explore possible future grades. Students will create the distributions of each grade category using histograms. They will also analyze grades using mean and standard deviation. Students will use statistics to determine data distribution while comparing the center and spread of two or more different data sets.

Type: Lesson Plan

How tall is an 8th grader?:

Ever wonder about the differences in heights between students in grade 8? In this lesson, students will use data they collect to create and analyze multiple box plots using 5-number summaries. Students will make inferences about how height and another category may or may not be related.

Type: Lesson Plan

Plane Statistics:

This lesson starts with an activity to gather data using paper airplanes then progresses to using appropriate statistics to compare the center and spread of the data. Box plots are used in this application lesson of concepts and skills previously acquired.

Type: Lesson Plan

Which One: Box plot, Dot Plot, or Histogram?:

Students will be asked to obtain data and create a human box plot, which will be analyzed and explained using statistical terms. Students will then understand the differences and advantages to using the box plot, histogram, and dot plot. Students will also practice selecting the most appropriate graphical representation for a set of data.

Type: Lesson Plan

What's Your Tendency?:

This resource can be used to teach students how to create and compare box plots. After completing this lesson, students should be able to answer questions in both familiar and unfamiliar situations.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Distance a Coin Will Travel:

This lesson is a hands-on activity that will allow students to collect and display data about how far different coins will travel. The data collected is then used to construct double dot plots and double box plots. This activity helps to facilitate the statistical implications of data collection and the application of central tendency and variability in data collection.

Type: Lesson Plan

Which is Better? Using Data to Make Choices:

Students use technology to analyze measures of center and variability in data. Data displays such as box plots, line plots, and histograms are used. The effects of outliers are taken into consideration when drawing conclusions. Students will cite evidence from the data to support their conclusions.

Type: Lesson Plan

How long did you study?:

Students will create and analyze histograms based on student study time when preparing for the Algebra EOC. Students will be given a set of data and guided notes

Type: Lesson Plan

How many licks does it take to get to the center?:

Students will create different displays, line plots, histograms, and box plots from data collected about types of lollipops. The data will be analyzed and compared. Students will determine "Which lollipop takes the fewest number of licks to get to the center: a Tootsie Pop, a Blow Pop, or a Dum Dum?"

Type: Lesson Plan

Birthday Party Decisions:

Students will create and compare four different boxplots to determine the best location for a birthday party.

Type: Lesson Plan

Outliers in the Outfield – Dealing With Extreme Data Points:

Students will explore the effects outliers have on the mean and median values using the Major League Baseball (MLB) salary statistics. They will create and compare box plots and analyze measures of center and variability. They will also be given a set of three box plots and asked to identify and compare their measures of center and variablity.

Type: Lesson Plan

Marshmallow Madness:

This lesson allows students to have a hands-on experience collecting real-world data, creating graphical representations, and analyzing their data. Students will make predictions as to the outcome of the data and compare their predictions to the actual outcome. Students will create and analyze line plots, histograms, and box plots.

Type: Lesson Plan

Comparing Data Using Box Plots:

Students will use box plots to compare two or more sets of data. They will analyze data in context by comparing the box plots of two or more data sets.

Type: Lesson Plan

Digging the Plots:

Students construct box plots and use the measure(s) of center and variability to make comparisons, interpret results, and draw conclusions about two populations.

Type: Lesson Plan

A Walk Down the Lane:

Students will collect data, and create box plots. Students will make predictions about which measurement best describes the spread and center of the data. Students will use this information to make predictions.

Type: Lesson Plan

How do we measure success?:

Students will use the normal distribution to estimate population percentages and calculate the values that fall within one, two, and three standard deviations of the mean. Students use statistics and a normal distribution to determine how well a participant performed in a math competition.

Type: Lesson Plan

How Old are the Players?:

For this lesson, students will research the ages of players on two basketball teams. They will find the five-number summary, the mean, and determine if there are outliers in the data set. Two box plots will be created and the measures of center and variation analyzed.

Type: Lesson Plan

Who is the world's best ball player?:

Students will compare sets of box and whisker plots to determine who is the better basketball player, Lebron James or Michael Jordan.

Type: Lesson Plan

Centers, Spreads, and Outliers:

The students will compare the effects of outliers on measures of center and spread within dot plots and box plots.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Penny Lab:

Students will design an investigation to collect and analyze data, determine results, write a justification and make a presentation using U.S. pennies.

Paired student teams will determine the mass of 50 U.S. pennies. Students will also collect other data from each penny such as minted year and observable appearance. Students will be expected to organize/represent their data into tables, histograms and other informational structures appropriate for reporting all data for each penny. Students will be expected to consider the data, determine trends, and research information in order to make a claim that explains trends in data from minted U.S. pennies.

Hopefully, student data reports will support the knowledge that the metallic composition of the penny has changed over the years. Different compositions can have significantly different masses. A sufficiently random selection of hundreds of pennies across the class should allow the students to discover trends in the data to suggest the years in which the composition changed.

Type: Lesson Plan

Baking Soda and Vinegar: A statistical approach to a chemical reaction.:

Students experiment with baking soda and vinegar and use statistics to determine which ratio of ingredients creates the most carbon dioxide. This hands-on activity applies the concepts of plot, center, and spread.

Type: Lesson Plan

Should Statistics be Shapely?:

Students will Interpret differences in shape, center, and spread of a variety of data displays, accounting for possible effects of extreme data points.

Students will create a Human Box Plot using their data to master the standard and learning objectives, then complete interactive notes with the classroom teacher, a formative assessment, and later a summative assessment to show mastery.

Type: Lesson Plan

Show Me the Money:

Students will create a statistical question and collect and analyze data using relative frequency tables. They will present their argument in hopes of earning a cash prize for their philanthropy. An iterative process of critique and refinement will take place. A student packet is included that guides all parts of the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Homework or Play?:

Students will be given data and then plot the data using a graphical method of choice (dot plot, bar graph, box plot, etc.) The students will work in groups and then analyze and summarize the data.

Type: Lesson Plan

Lucky Number Seven:

In "Lucky Number Seven", students will have fun generating individual data in this lesson introducing the creation of histograms. Working in pairs, students will roll number cubes, find the sum of each roll, and complete a chart. Through guided practice, students will learn how to organize the charted data and create a histogram. Supplemental independent practice is provided along with suggestions for formative and summative assessment.

Type: Lesson Plan

Statistical Question Sort:

In this lesson, students will explore statistical questions. Students will be able to create statistical questions and understand when a question is non-statistical. This lesson incorporates a YouTube video, direct instruction, and a question sort. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to write their own statistical questions for future statistical lessons.

Type: Lesson Plan

Sweet Statistics - A Candy Journey:

Students will sort pieces of candy by color and then calculate statistical information such as mean, median, mode, interquartile range, and standard deviation. They will also create an Excel spreadsheet with the candy data to generate pie charts and column charts. Finally, they will compare experimental data to theoretical data and explain the differences between the two. This is intended to be an exercise for an Algebra 1 class. Students will need at least 2 class periods to sort their candy, make the statistical calculations, and create the charts in Excel.

Type: Lesson Plan

Interpreting Box Plots:

Students will analyze various real world scenario data sets and create, analyze, and interpret the components of the box plots. Students will use data from morning routines, track times, ages, etc. Lesson includes a PowerPoint, homework, and assessments.

Type: Lesson Plan

Exploring Box plots:

This lesson involves real-world data situations. Students will use the data to create, explore, and compare the key components of a box plot.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Debate: Who is a Better Baller?:

In this activity the students will use NBA statistics on Lebron James and Tim Duncan who were key players in the 2014 NBA Finals, to calculate, compare, and discuss mean, median, interquartile range, variance, and standard deviation. They will also construct and discuss box plots.

Type: Lesson Plan

Got Homework?:

Students will gather data to create dot plots, box plots, and histograms. They will examine each type of graph and compare the different representations.

Type: Lesson Plan

Who's Better?--Using Data to Determine:

This lesson is intended for use after students are able to construct data plots (histograms, line plots, box plots). Students are tasked with not only constructing data plots, but also matching data plots to data sets. In the summative assessment, students are given two data sets and asked to select which of three data plots (histogram, line plot, or box plot) would best be used to compare the data. After choosing and constructing their plot, students are then tasked with forming a conclusion based on the plots they have constructed.

Type: Lesson Plan

Burgers to Smoothies.:

Students will create double box plots to compare nutritional data about popular food choices.

Type: Lesson Plan

Is It a Guess or Statistics?:

This lesson teaches random sampling which leads to making inferences about a larger group or population. Students will determine the best measure of center to use for a data set. Students will collect data, select a data display and then analyze the data.

Type: Lesson Plan

Survey Says:

This lesson addresses statistical and non-statistical questions. The hook will be getting the students talking about what is exciting about shows like "The Family Feud" and how the questions on these shows are examples of statistical questions because they yield numerical answers that vary from one individual to another. The students will have several attempts to identify statistical or non-statistical questions.

Type: Lesson Plan

What is a Question?:

Students will learn how to recognize and formulate a statistical question. After a statistical question is established, students will engage in collecting data from their classmates. The lesson concludes with student presentations of analyzed data and conclusions about the topic selected.

Type: Lesson Plan

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dot Plots, Histograms, and Box Plots:

Students will compare the advantages and disadvantages of dot plots, histograms, and box plots. During this lesson, students will review the statistical process and learn the characteristics of a statistical question; whether it be numerical or categorical. Students will apply the information learned in a project that involves real-world issues and make an analysis based on the data collected.

Type: Lesson Plan

Inferences:

This lesson shows students how to conduct a survey and display their results. The lesson takes the students through:

  1. What is a statistical question?
  2. General population versus sample population.
  3. What is a hypothesis?
  4. What is a survey?
  5. How to make inferences.

Type: Lesson Plan

Box Plots:

An introduction lesson on creating and interpreting box plots.

Type: Lesson Plan

Basketball All Star Team:

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will create a procedure for ranking high school basketball players. Students are given statistics for each player and are asked to recommend the best player to play for an all-star team after determining the free throw, three-point, and field goal percentages. Students write about the procedure used to make their decisions. In a twist, students are given additional data to determine the mean points per game.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem, while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought process. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEA’s visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Selecting a Sample Population:

The student explores several strategies for selecting a sample population to support making inferences about the population.

Type: Lesson Plan

Generating Multiple Samples to Gauge Variation:

Students explore variation in random samples and use random samples to make generalizations about the population.

Type: Lesson Plan

Analyzing Data with Bell Curves and Measures of Center:

In this lesson, students learn about data sets and will be able to tell if a bell curve represents a normal distribution and explain why a distribution might be skewed. Students will form their own bell curve calculate measures of center and variability based on their data and discuss their findings with the class.

Type: Lesson Plan

Flipping the house:

The Gonzalez family is moving to Florida and they need our students' help deciding which neighborhood to live in. To help them, the students will calculate the mean and median of home prices in the neighborhood and trends in price changes.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

Statistically Speaking Part II: An Investigation of Statistical Questions and Data Distribution:

This lesson is Part 2 of 2 and uses an inquiry-based learning method to help students recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data. Through cooperative learning activities, the students will develop an understanding of how to analyze the collected data to answer a statistical question. Students will complete a statistical research project in teams. Since this lesson focuses on math concepts related to identifying clusters, gaps, outliers, and the overall shape of a line plot, it will help students build a strong foundation for future concepts in the statistics and probability domain. The corresponding lesson is Statistically Speaking Part I: An Investigation of Statistical Questions and Data Distribution, Resource ID 48649.

Type: Lesson Plan

Got You Covered!:

Students will develop a procedure for selecting car covers to protect the fleet of vehicles used by the Everywhere Sales Corporation. They will use a given data table to consider the attributes of several different brands of car covers, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and then rank and weight the attributes according to their level of importance. The procedure will be written out in detail and a rationale provided to advise the company which car cover(s) should be used.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Statistical Question?:

The lesson will start by assessing prior knowledge about asking varied questions. To hook the students, the teacher will ask students questions to which they must decide if they are statistical or non-statistical. Finally, the teacher will ask students to volunteer questions so the class can discuss why or why not the question is statistical.

Type: Lesson Plan

Statistically Speaking Part I: An Investigation of Statistical Questions and Data Distribution:

This lesson is Part 1 of 2 and uses the inquiry-based learning method to help students recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data. Through cooperative learning activities, students will learn how to analyze the data collected to answer a statistical question. Since this lesson focuses on math concepts related to identifying clusters, gaps, outliers, and the overall shape of a line plot, it will help students build a strong foundation for future concepts in the statistics and probability domain. Part 2 of this lesson is Resource ID #49091.

Type: Lesson Plan

Be the Statistician:

Students will utilize their knowledge of data and statistics to create a question, collect numerical data, and create a display of their data driven by its quantitative measures of center and variability; mean, median, mode, and range.

Type: Lesson Plan

A MEANingful Discussion about Central Tendency:

Using relatable scenarios, this lesson explores the mean and median of a data set and how an outlier affects each measure differently.

Type: Lesson Plan

Best School for Kevin:

In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will compare and analyze data, create histograms, and provide recommendations on the best school for a student new to the area.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

Type: Lesson Plan

The Survey Says...:

Students will work in groups to conduct class surveys, using the results of the survey to calculate various measures of central tendency.

Type: Lesson Plan

Punkin Chunkin - An Engineering Design Challenge:

This Engineering Design Challenge is intended to help students apply the concepts of the transfer of potential and kinetic energy. It is not intended as an initial introduction to this benchmark.

Type: Lesson Plan

Exploring Central Tendency:

Students will review measures of central tendency and practice selecting the best measure with real-world categorical data. This relatable scenario about ranking the characteristics considered when purchasing a pair of sneakers, is used to finally answer the age-old question of "When will I ever use this?".

Type: Lesson Plan

Closest to the Pin!:

Students will create and analyze real world data while representing the data visually and comparing to a larger sample size.

Type: Lesson Plan

Data Doctors:

Have your students become "Data Doctors" by examining and analyzing means of central tendency. This lesson is a great introduction to mean, median, mode and range. Students will be sets of data, get to work in small groups examining the sets, view a poem that will help them remember each term, and take surveys to get real data sets.

Type: Lesson Plan

Candy Colors: Figuring the Mean, Median & Mode:

In this lesson, students will count candy of different colors and use the data to calculate the mean, median, and mode. Groups of students will work together to share their data and calculate the measures of central tendency again. At the end of the lesson, they will apply their learning to another data collection.

Type: Lesson Plan

Hot, Hot, Hot! Earth Heating Up:

Students will explore the concept of the uneven heating of Earth's surfaces by the Sun by collecting and analyzing data. Outside the classroom, students from several classes will record data points to be analyzed collectively to explore rates of heating related to time and material properties for air, water, and soil. Students will use mathematical techniques to help answer scientific questions.

Type: Lesson Plan

Using Box Plots to Interpret Data:

This lesson explores the creation of box plots to compare two data sets and draw inferences.

Type: Lesson Plan

Original Student Tutorials

Math Models and Social Distancing:

Learn how math models can show why social distancing during a epidemic or pandemic is important in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Castles, Catapults and Data: Histograms Part 2:

Learn how to interpret histograms to analyze data, and help an inventor predict the range of a catapult in part 2 of this interactive tutorial series. More specifically, you'll learn to describe the shape and spread of data distributions.

Click HERE to open part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Castles, Catapults and Data: Histograms Part 1:

Learn how to create a histogram to display continuous data from projectiles launched by a catapult in this interactive tutorial. 

This is part 1 in a 2-part series. Click HERE to open part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

It's Raining....Cats and Dogs:

Learn how to make and interpret boxplots in this pet-themed, interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

It Can Be a Zoo of Data!:

Discover how to calculate and interpret the mean, median, mode and range of data sets from the zoo in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Perspectives Video: Experts

Mathematically Modeling Hurricanes:

<p>Entrepreneur and meteorologist Mark Powell discusses the need for statistics in his mathematical modeling program to help better understand hurricanes.</p>

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Histograms Show Trends in Fisheries Data Over Time:

<p>NOAA Fishery management relies on histograms to show patterns and trends over time of fishery data.</p>

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiasts

Determining Remote Locations with Math:

Ecologist, Rebecca Means, describes the process of determining remote locations in the USA and developing quantitative questions that are appropriate.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Normal? Non-Normal Distributions & Oceanography:

<p>What does it mean to be normally distributed? &nbsp;What do oceanographers do when the collected data is not normally distributed?&nbsp;</p>

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Graphs Help Identify Cost-Effective Sea Turtle Conservation Strategies:

<p>This marine biologist discusses her use of graphical representations to help determine the most cost-effective management strategies for sea turtle conservation.</p>

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Perspectives Video: Teaching Ideas

Using Visual Models to Determine Mode, Median and Range:

Unlock an effective teaching strategy for teaching median, mode, and range in this Teacher Perspectives Video for educators.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Rubber Band Races for Testing Measurement Accuracy:

<p>This activity will send your measurement lab to new distances.</p>

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Problem-Solving Tasks

Haircut Costs:

This problem could be used as an introductory lesson to introduce group comparisons and to engage students in a question they may find amusing and interesting.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Electoral College:

Students are given a context and a dotplot and are asked a number of questions regarding shape, center, and spread of the data.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Buttons: Statistical Questions:

Students are given a context and a series of questions and are asked to identify whether each question is statistical and to provide their reasoning. Students are asked to compose an original statistical question for the given context.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Puppy Weights:

Using the information provided, create an appropriate graphical display and answer the questions regarding shape, center and variability.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Teaching Ideas

Pump Up the Volume:

This activity is a statistical analysis of recorded measurements of a single value - in this case, a partially filled graduated cylinder.

Type: Teaching Idea

A Certain Uncertainty:

Students will measure the mass of one nickel 10 times on a digital scale precise to milligrams. The results will be statistically analyzed to find the error and uncertainty of the scale.

Type: Teaching Idea

Communicating about Numbers-SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

Students communicate mathematical ideas and visually represent ideas by constructing charts, graphs, and scale drawings based on information cards about various marine animals.

Type: Teaching Idea

All Numbers Are Not Created Equal:

Although a sheet of paper is much thinner than the divisions of a ruler, we can make indirect measurements of the paper's thickness.

Type: Teaching Idea

Jump or Be Lunch! SeaWorld Classroom Activity:

Students will predict how high they can jump and then compare the height of their jumps to how high a rockhopper penguin can jump out of the water. They will practice mathematical skills for determining averages.

Type: Teaching Idea

Text Resource

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On: Busy Stretch for Large Earthquakes:

This article is intended to support reading in the content area. The text investigates whether the number of large magnitude earthquakes has significantly increased. The article explores the challenge of trying to determine why the amount and intensity of earthquakes can vary across time. The text also briefly explores the recent rise in man-made earthquakes.

Type: Text Resource

Tutorials

Shapes of Distributions:

In this video, you will practice describing the shape of distributions as skewed left, skewed right, or symmetrical.

Type: Tutorial

Statistics Introduction: Mean, Median, and Mode:

The focus of this video is to help you understand the core concepts of arithmetic mean, median, and mode.

Type: Tutorial

Find a Missing Value Given the Mean:

This video shows how to find the value of a missing piece of data if you know the mean of the data set.

Type: Tutorial

Constructing a Box Plot:

This video demonstrates how to construct a box plot, formerly known as a box and whisker plot.

Type: Tutorial

Interpreting Box Plots:

Students will interpret data presented in a box plot.  

Type: Tutorial

Histograms:

Learn how to create histograms, which summarize data by sorting it into groups.

Type: Tutorial

Statistical Questions:

Discover what makes a question a "statistical question."

Type: Tutorial

Video/Audio/Animation

Soybean growth rate response to touch:

A time-lapse video showing differential growth rates for touch-treated seedlings and control seedlings. This would be appropriate for lessons about plant growth responses to environmental stress and graphing growth rate. Plants were grown in a vermiculite soilless medium with calcium-enhanced water. No other minerals or nutrients were used. Plants were grown in a dark room with specially-filtered green light. The plants did not grow by cellular reproduction but only by expansion of existing cells in the hypocotyl region below the 'hook'.
Video contains three plants in total. The first two plants to emerge from the vermiculite medium are the control (right) and treatment (left) plants. A third plant emerges in front of these two but is removed at the time of treatment and is not relevant except to help indicate when treatment was applied (watch for when it disappears). When that plant disappears, the slowed growth rate of the treatment plant is apparent.
Treatment included a gentle flexing of the hypocotyl region of the treatment seedling for approximately 5 seconds. A rubber glove was used at this time to avoid an contamination of the plant tissue.
Some video players allow users to 'scrub' the playback back and forth. This would help teachers or students isolate particular times (as indicated by the watch) and particular measurements (as indicated by the cm scale). A graph could be constructed by first creating a data table and then plotting the data points from the table. Multiple measurements from the video could be taken to create an accurate graph of the plants' growth rates (treatment vs control).
Instructions for graphing usage:
The scale in the video is in centimeters (one cm increments). Students could observe the initial time on the watch in the video and use that observation to represent time (t) = 0. For that value, a mark could be made to indicate the height of the seedlings. As they advance and pause the video repeatedly, the students would mark the time (+2.5 hours for example) and mark the related seedling heights. It is not necessary to advance the video at any regular interval but is necessary to mark the time and related heights as accurately as possible. Students may use different time values and would thus have different data sets but should find that their graphs are very similar. (Good opportunity to collect data from real research and create their own data sets) It is advised that the students collect multiple data points around the time where the seedling growth slows in response to touch to more accurately collect information around that growth rate slowing event. The resulting graph should have an initial growth rate slope, a flatter slope after stress treatment, and a return to approximately the same slope as seen pre-treatment. More data points should yield a more thorough view of this. This would be a good point to discuss. Students can use some of their data points to calculate approximate pre-treatment, immediate post-treatment, and late post-treatment slopes for both the control and treatment seedlings.
This video was created by the submitter and is original content.
Full screen playback should be an option for most video players. Video quality may appear degraded with a larger image but this may aid viewing the watch and scale for data collection.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Student Resources

Vetted resources students can use to learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials

Math Models and Social Distancing:

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Type: Original Student Tutorial

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Click HERE to open part 1.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Castles, Catapults and Data: Histograms Part 1:

Learn how to create a histogram to display continuous data from projectiles launched by a catapult in this interactive tutorial. 

This is part 1 in a 2-part series. Click HERE to open part 2.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

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Type: Original Student Tutorial

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Discover how to calculate and interpret the mean, median, mode and range of data sets from the zoo in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Problem-Solving Tasks

Haircut Costs:

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Type: Problem-Solving Task

Electoral College:

Students are given a context and a dotplot and are asked a number of questions regarding shape, center, and spread of the data.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Buttons: Statistical Questions:

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Type: Problem-Solving Task

Puppy Weights:

Using the information provided, create an appropriate graphical display and answer the questions regarding shape, center and variability.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Tutorials

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In this video, you will practice describing the shape of distributions as skewed left, skewed right, or symmetrical.

Type: Tutorial

Statistics Introduction: Mean, Median, and Mode:

The focus of this video is to help you understand the core concepts of arithmetic mean, median, and mode.

Type: Tutorial

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Type: Tutorial

Constructing a Box Plot:

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Interpreting Box Plots:

Students will interpret data presented in a box plot.  

Type: Tutorial

Histograms:

Learn how to create histograms, which summarize data by sorting it into groups.

Type: Tutorial

Statistical Questions:

Discover what makes a question a "statistical question."

Type: Tutorial

Parent Resources

Vetted resources caregivers can use to help students learn the concepts and skills in this topic.

Problem-Solving Tasks

Haircut Costs:

This problem could be used as an introductory lesson to introduce group comparisons and to engage students in a question they may find amusing and interesting.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Electoral College:

Students are given a context and a dotplot and are asked a number of questions regarding shape, center, and spread of the data.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Buttons: Statistical Questions:

Students are given a context and a series of questions and are asked to identify whether each question is statistical and to provide their reasoning. Students are asked to compose an original statistical question for the given context.

Type: Problem-Solving Task

Puppy Weights:

Using the information provided, create an appropriate graphical display and answer the questions regarding shape, center and variability.

Type: Problem-Solving Task