Teachers have different things they like to do on the first day of a class. Some get to know their students' names and something about each of them. Some dive right into the subject matter and get things rolling right away. I like to an activity that sets the stage, as it were - that gives the students an overview of what they'll be studying during the year. The following activity is one that serves that purpose for an AP Statistics course. It involves a simulation, a graphical representation, experimental design, data collection, an dhypothesis testing, and it can easily be done in the space of 90 minutes, or 45 minutes if you provide data that were already collected. About a hundred 3-once Dixie cuups areneeded, about three liters of Coke and three liters of Pepsi (less for a small class), and optionally, unsalted crackers for students to 'cleanse the palate." Also you'll need lotso f standard dice: 256 for a class of 32 students working in groups of four, and more for either larger classes or for students working individually. Dice in large quantities can be purchased from school supply houses, and they are such an asset to a statistics class that the purchase of a very large classroom set is well worth the investment. It is also possible to do the activity with fewer dice - one die per student or group - and have each student or group roll a single die repeatedly instead of rolling many dice at once.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education