Is there a way to measure variability? The ninth resource in a series of 22 introduces mean absolute deviation, a measure of variability. Pupils learn how to determine the measure based upon its name, then they use the mean...

What is the typical length of a yellow perch? Pupils analyze a histogram of lengths for a sample of yellow perch from the Great Lakes. They determine which measures of center and variability are best to use based upon the shape of the...

Should the standard deviation be used for all distributions? Pupils know that the median is a better description of the center for skewed distributions; therefore, they will need a variability measure about the median for those...

What a find! Here is a activity, designed to meet sixth grade math Common Core standards, that focuses on the calculation of different measures of center for the scores from a penalty shoot-out competition. An independent...

The 23rd segment in a series of 25 presents random samples from two populations to determine whether there is a difference. Groups determine whether they believe there is a difference between the two populations and later use an...

How do we measure the deviation of data points from the mean? An enriching activity walks your class through the steps to calculate the standard deviation. Guiding questions connect the steps to the context, so the process...

The 13th lesson in a unit of 22 introduces the concept of the interquartile range (IQR). Class members learn to determine the interquartile range, interpret within the context of the data, and finish by finding the IQR using an...

The class gets their mean and median all in a row with an assessment task that uses a population of ducklings to work with data displays and measures of central tendency. Pupils create a frequency chart and calculate the mean and median....

Determine whether there is a difference between two grades. Teams generate random samples of two grade levels of individuals. Groups use the mean absolute deviation to determine whether there is a meaningful difference between the...

Order the data within a stem-and-leaf display. Pupils take data and create and ordered stem-and-leaf diagrams, including the key. Participants take their data and determine answers about the information. Class members then find...

Baseball is all about statistics. Pupils solve problems related to mean, median, and range. They calculate the total weight of players given the mean weight, calculate the mean weight of reserve players given the mean weight of the...

Data distributions can be compared in terms of center, variability, and shape. Two exploratory challenges present data in two different displays to compare. The displays of histograms and box plots require different comparisons based...

Get two activities with one lesson. The first lesson, is appropriate for grades 6-12 and takes about 20 minutes. It introduces the concept of measures of central tendency, primarily the mean, and discusses its uses as well as its...

What city has the most consistent temperatures? Pupils use the mean and mean absolute deviation to describe various data sets including the average temperature in several cities. The 10th lesson in the 22-part series asks learners to...

Scholars apply the concepts of box plots and dot plots to summarize and describe data distributions. They use the data displays to compare sets of data and determine numerical summaries. 

The 11th lesson plan in the series of 22 is similar to the preceding lesson plan, but requires scholars to compare distributions using the mean and mean absolute deviation. Pupils use the information to make a determination on which data...

Does standard deviation work for non-symmetrical distributions, and what does it mean? Through the use of examples, high schoolers determine the standard deviation of a variety of distributions and interpret its...

One of the key questions in statistics is whether the results are good enough. Use an activity to help pupils understand the importance of sample size and the effect it has on variability. Groups collect their own sample data and compare...

In this magnetic storms and Earth's magnetic field activity, students use a bar graph showing the Kp Index for planetary variability. Students use the bar graph to answer 3 questions about the solar storms and their Kp values.

Learners engage in six activities to lead them through the process of conducting a thorough analysis of data. Pupils work with calculating standard deviations and z-scores, finding the area under a normal curve, and sampling...

The more you text, the less you study. Have classes test this hypothesis or another question related to text messages. Using real data, learners use technology to create a scatter plot and calculate a regression line. They create a dot...

In this statistical process control worksheet, students solve and complete 15 various types of problems. First, they estimate the standard deviation of the given process. Then, students use the target value as a center line and draw a...

Through a series of problems, learners determine the variability of a data set by looking at the deviations from the mean. Estimating means of larger data sets presented in histograms and providing a way to calculate an...

Comparing college football teams, Division I is said to have heavier lineman than Division III. Your mathematicians are given data from two different divisions and will have to interpret a dotplot and calculate the difference in weight...