Statistics

Day 5
55 min.
10/27/2014
Unit of Study: Descriptive Statistics
Focus Question: How can we represent a set of data to make a decision or judgment?
Objective/Mathematical Purpose:
Students will be able to find the mean and median of a set of data.
Students will be able to determine which measure of central tendency is the best to use for a specific set
of data.
Vocabulary: Mean, Median, Outlier, Inflation
Common Core Standards:
Common Core 8 Mathematical Practices
Summarize, represent, and interpret data on a single 1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving
them.
count or measurement variable
2.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-ID.A.1 Represent data with
3.
Construct viable arguments and critique the
plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box
reasoning of others.
plots).
4. Model with mathematics.
CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-ID.A.2 Use statistics
appropriate to the shape of the data distribution to compare center 5. Use appropriate tools strategically.
6. Attend to precision.
(median, mean) and spread (interquartile range, standard
7. Look for and make use of structure.
deviation) of two or more different data sets.
CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-ID.A.3 Interpret differences in 8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
shape, center, and spread in the context of the data sets,
accounting for possible effects of extreme data points (outliers).
CCSS.Math.Content.HSS-ID.A.4 Use the mean and
standard deviation of a data set to fit it to a normal distribution
and to estimate population percentages. Recognize that there are
data sets for which such a procedure is not appropriate. Use
calculators, spreadsheets, and tables to estimate areas under the
normal curve.
Evidence of Learning:
Students will be able to calculate the mean, median and mode of a set of data.
Students will be able to explain how the mean and the median are affected by outliers.
Students will be able to determine which measure of central tendency is the best representative of a
given set of data.
Do Now (5 min.)
The following data is represents two students' test scores for the last 7 tests in a certain class.
Student A: 66, 74, 80, 60, 61, 79, 0

Student B: 76, 84, 90, 70, 71, 89, 80

1. Find the mean, median and mode test score for each student.
2. If the student's overall grade was based only on the test scores, should the mean, median or mode be used to show how much the
student learned? Explain why you made the choice you made for EACH student.
Discussion (10 min.)

Discuss the Do Now with students.

Do not spend a lot of time explaining the calculations for Mean, Median and Mode. Students should easily be able to do this.

Note that there is no mode for this set of data. Or you could consider there to be 7 modes. Either way the mode is not a useful

statistic of this set of data. It does not tell us anything.

The focus of the discussion should be on which is the better representative of the set of data.

For Student A, the median and mean are pretty far apart (70 vs. 60). The outlier (0) brought the mean down from where it would

have been if there was not outlier.

70 seems to be a better indicator of this student's knowledge of the subject.

Discuss why the student may have gotten a 0.

Out of this discussion, every student should be able to understand that:

1) The mean is affected by outliers much more than the median.

2) The median is a better representative of data that has outliers and should be used when making any decisions based on the
data, if the data has outliers.
Census Data - Think, Pair, Share (20 min.)

Hand out census data to students.

Give students 2 minutes to look at the tables to make sense of them.

After 2 minutes, quickly discuss as a class to make sure students understand how to read the tables.

By the end of the discussion, students should know how to read the tables and know that comparing the converted dollars is more
useful than comparing dollar amounts without accounting for inflation.

Think (4 min.)

Ask students to look at the tables and make observations. What observations or patterns do you notice?

Students should record their observations in their notebooks.

This should be done INDIVIDUALLY.

Pair (7 min.)

Students should pair with another student.

Students should share their observations with their partner AND should try to speculate as to WHY these patterns are occurring.

What do these patterns say about income in the US?

If students notice that income is increasing for the most part, then the average person in making more money now than in

the past, even when considering inflation.

If students notice that there are some years where income went down, then there was some sort of economic down-turn

(recession.)
This is where we want to get (if no student notices this, then suggest it to a couple of pairs): The mean and median income

is getting farther apart. This means that there are outliers. In this case, the mean is higher than the median, so the outliers
are high. There are a few people that have a lot of money. The fact that this difference is increasing means that the outliers
are becoming even more of outliers. In other words, the super rich are getting richer. Wealth is being more and more
concentrated in the hands a few super rich people.
In order to get students to notice that the above pattern, tell students that when talking about income level in the world (such
as comparing how much money people make in New York and Chicago), statisticians use median income. Why? Students
should know from the Do Now that the Do Now that the median is better if there are outliers. What does this mean in this
situation?

Share (10 min.)

Have a whole class share that should lead to the above points coming out.

By the end of the share/discussion, students should know that knowing the mean and median can tell you about the spread of the

data.
Ask students what the data might look like on a line plot/bar graph. (It would be skewed right, with the highest frequency toward

the left and a few outliers far to the right.)

USE A CHART TO COMPARE THE MEAN VS THE MEDIAN FOR THIS SET OF DATA

Practice - Where would you work? (10 min.)

Hand out scenario to students.

Ask them to work with a partner to decide where they would want to work.

As students work, if necessary, remind them to compare the mean and median salary of each company. What does that tell you
about how the workers are paid?

Encourage students to think about what the large gap between mean and median meant in the census tables. Ask students to

visualize (or even sketch) what the line plot or bar graph would look like for this salary situation.
Homework: JUNO 2.5 Mean vs Median

Do Now (5 min.)
The following data is represents two students' test scores for the last 7 tests in a certain class.
Student A: 66, 74, 80, 60, 61, 79, 0

Student B: 76, 84, 90, 70, 71, 89, 80

1. Find the mean, median and mode test score for each student.
2. If the student's overall grade was based only on the test scores, should the mean, median or mode be used to show how much the
student learned? Explain why you made the choice you made for EACH student.

Do Now (5 min.)
The following data is represents two students' test scores for the last 7 tests in a certain class.
Student A: 66, 74, 80, 60, 61, 79, 0

Student B: 76, 84, 90, 70, 71, 89, 80

1. Find the mean, median and mode test score for each student.
2. If the student's overall grade was based only on the test scores, should the mean, median or mode be used to show how much the
student learned? Explain why you made the choice you made for EACH student.

Do Now (5 min.)
The following data is represents two students' test scores for the last 7 tests in a certain class.
Student A: 66, 74, 80, 60, 61, 79, 0

Student B: 76, 84, 90, 70, 71, 89, 80

1. Find the mean, median and mode test score for each student.
2. If the student's overall grade was based only on the test scores, should the mean, median or mode be used to show how much the
student learned? Explain why you made the choice you made for EACH student.

Table H-9. Type of Household--All Races by Median and Mean Income: 1980 to 2010
(Households as of March of the following year. Income in current and 2010 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars (28))

Type of Household and year

ALL HOUSEHOLDS
2010
2009 (36)
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004 (35)
2003
2002
2001
2000 (30)
1999 (29)
1998
1997
1996
1995 (25)
1994 (24)
1993 (23)
1992 (22)
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987 (21)
1986
1985 (20)
1984
1983 (19)
1982
1981
1980

Number
(thousands)
118,682
117,538
117,181
116,783
116,011
114,384
113,343
112,000
111,278
109,297
108,209
106,434
103,874
102,528
101,018
99,627
98,990
97,107
96,426
95,669
94,312
93,347
92,830
91,124
89,479
88,458
86,789
85,407
83,918
83,527
82,368

Median income
Current dollars
2010 dollars
49,445
49,777
50,303
50,233
48,201
46,326
44,334
43,318
42,409
42,228
41,990
40,696
38,885
37,005
35,492
34,076
32,264
31,241
30,636
30,126
29,943
28,906
27,225
26,061
24,897
23,618
22,415
20,885
20,171
19,074
17,710

49,445
50,599
50,939
52,823
52,124
51,739
51,174
51,353
51,398
52,005
53,164
53,252
51,944
50,123
49,112
48,408
46,937
46,419
46,646
47,032
48,423
49,076
48,216
47,848
47,256
45,640
44,802
43,453
43,758
43,876
44,616

M
Current dollars

67,53
67,97
68,42
67,60
66,57
63,34
60,46
59,06
57,85
58,20
57,13
54,73
51,85
49,69
47,12
44,93
43,13
41,42
38,84
37,92
37,40
36,52
34,01
32,41
30,75
29,06
27,46
25,40
24,30
22,78
21,06

You have been offered a job at a two

companies, but can only take one job.
You want the job that pays the most.
The companies gave you the following
salary statistics.
Mean
Salary
($ per year)
Median
Salary
($ per year)

Company 1

Company 2

135,000

52,000

34,000

45,000