Resource Library

This tutorial on Distributions helps students understand the basic concept of probability distributions, recognize and use Binomial, Normal, Poisson, and Uniform Distributions, and solve exercise problems using probability distributions.

This applet shows how the correlation between two variables is affected by the range of the variable plotted on the X-axis.

In this free online video program, "the successes of casino owners and the manufacturing industry are used to demonstrate the use of the central limit theorem. One example shows how control charts allow us to effectively monitor random variation in business and industry. Students will learn how to create x-bar charts and the definitions of control limits and out-of-control limits."

This free online video program "discusses binomial distribution and the criteria for it, and describes a simple way to calculate its mean and standard deviation. An additional feature describes the quincunx, a randomizing device at the Boston Museum of Science, and explains how it represents the binomial distribution."

This free online video program, "demonstrates how to determine the probability of any number of independent events, incorporating many of the same concepts used in previous programs. An interview with a statistician who helped to investigate the space shuttle accident shows how probability can be used to estimate the reliability of equipment."

In this free online video program, "students will learn the distinction between deterministic phenomena and random sampling. This program introduces the concepts of sample space, events, and outcomes, and demonstrates how to use them to create a probability model. A discussion of statistician Persi Diaconis's work with probability theory covers many of the central ideas about randomness and probability."

This free online video program offers topics that "include linear growth, least squares, exponential growth, and straightening an exponential growth curve by logic. A study of growth problems in children serves to illustrate the use of the logarithm function to transform an exponential pattern into a line. The program also discusses growth in world oil production over time." This individual video is accessed by scrolling down to the "Individual Program Descriptions - 7. Models for Growth" and click the "VOD" icon at the top-right of the description.

In this free online video program, "students will advance from histograms through smooth curves to normal curves, and finally to a single normal curve for standardized measurement, as this program shows ways to describe the shape of a distribution using progressively simpler methods. In a lesson on creating a density curve, students also learn why, under steadily decreasing deviation, today's baseball players are less likely to achieve a .400 batting average." This individual video is accessed by scrolling down to the "Individual Program Descriptions - 4. Normal Distributions" and click the "VOD" icon at the top-right of the description.

This journal article describes a set of experiments in which different methods of teaching Bayes' Theorem were compared to each other. The frequency representation of the rule was found to be easier to learn than the probability representation.

This journal article gives examples of erroneous beliefs about probability. It specifically examines the belief that a random sample must be representative of the true population.