Report Introduction

Each member of the class purchased one 2.17 oz bag of Skittles and counted the
amount in their own personal bag of each color it contained, and took an overall count. The
summation of the classs candies was taken to create for the sample total. The mean
number of candies in each bag was then found, as well as the standard deviation of the
numbers found in each bag and proportion of each color in the overall candy count. This
information is expressed in various charts and worksheets throughout the report.

Report Results and Expectations

I expected to see a roughly uniform distribution of candy colors, which, I would say,
is what was derived. I would imagine that if the sample size was even bigger, the values
would be more evenly distributed. As I saw in my own bag of Skittles, since the sample was
small, the values were very uneven. About one third of the candies in my package were
orange.

Skittle Sample Boxplot

amount per bag

Skittles Frequency Histogram

amount per bag

Analysis of 5-Number Summary Graphs
The data from the 5-number summary was what I expected to see. I assumed that the
bags wouldnt vary too much in number. The boxplot chart was a good way to visually
demonstrate this information. However, the frequency histogram is quite meaningless in
accurately showing the point of a 5-number summary.
Project Reflections
The Skittle colors in the project are what would be considered categorical data.
Categorical data is non-numerical information. Quantitative data, on the other hand, is
numeric and has the ability to be ordered meaningfully. Graphs such as a pie chart and a
bar graph can work really well to show numbers and proportions for categorical data.
Things such as scatter plots and stem and leaf plots do not lend themselves to categorical
information because they require numbers on both sides of the charts.
Confidence Interval
A Confidence Interval is a range of numbers that show where the actual value should fall. The
point estimate will be the midpoint of this range.

Hypothesis Test
A Hypothesis Test will help to support or reject a claim about a specific population.
Reflection
In an attempt to achieve accurate statistics, one should take a random sample from a
population, or a sample that has been carefully selected in such a way as to try and represent all aspects
of the population. For this study, the sample size was very small, and the sampling method was a
convenience sample. Because everyone picked the first package of Skittles they could get their hands
on, this data will likely not represent the overall Skittles population.