Resource Library

This lesson plan uses the Birthday Paradox to introduce basic concepts of probability. Students run a Monte Carlo simulation using the TI-83 graphing calculator to generate random dates, and then search for matching pairs. Students also perform a graphical analysis of the birthday-problem function. Key Words: Permutations; Explicit Function; Recursive Function; Modeling.

An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion. Gives examples of recent polls, margins of error, questions asked, and sample sizes.

This Flash applet provides an introduction to simple linear regression for introductory statistics students. It combines a brief narrated animation with an interactive scatterplot function. Students are able to place points on the scatterplot by clicking with a mouse or typing X-Y coordinates. Students use these points to learn about the best fit line by placing a guess on the plot and comparing it with the least squares line. Students also learn about the value of the correlation coefficent and points that would be considered outliers. Students may also specify a value of x (within the range of the data) and obtain the resulting predicted value.

This is a virtual spinner applet, which allows you to change spinner regions and the number of spins. It records the results and displays the data in a histogram.

This is a virtual applet, which models repeaded coin tossing by a random number generator. It allows you to change the number of tosses as well as runs and records your results.

This virtual applet simulates randomly drawing numbers from a box. You can choose which numbers you would like to choose from and the number of draws. The applet has the option to show theoretical probability and displays the results in histogram form.

This applet allows you to see the effect of various transformations on the relationship between two variables. The site lets you input your own data or allows you to choose from one of the given sets. The site also gives you instructions and excercises.

This example is designed to test whether religiosity is correlated with optimism. The page describes the study, has a link to the data set, and describes the method of analysis. Analysis includes ANOVA and regression.

This set of exercises asks students to model relationships and test them based on the chi-square distribution. The data used is based on testosterone levels and delinquency rate of American military men.

This correlation and regression example compares performance on reading comprehension questions to performace on the SAT. It also compares those who read the passage referred to by the questions to those who did not. Exercise questions and answers are also provided.