Probability

  • In this hands-on activity, students count the number of chips in cookies in order to carry out an independent samples t-test to see if Chips AhoyŒ¬ cookies have a higher, lower, or different mean number of chips per cookie than a supermarket brand. First there is a class discussion that can include concepts about random samples, independence of samples, recently covered tests, comparing two parameters with null and alternative hypotheses, what it means to be a chip in a cookie, how to break up the cookies to count chips, and of course a class consensus on the hypotheses to be tested. Second the students count the number of chips in a one cookie from each brand, and report their observations to the instructor. Third, the instructor develops the independent sample t-test statistic. Fourth, the students carry out (individually or as a class) the hypothesis test, checking the assumptions on sample-size/population-shape.
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  • In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind. A quote from French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895) given at a lecture at University of Lille on December 7, 1854.

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  • Statistically Speaking is a 5 minute 35 second video that can be used in discussing various concepts in descriptive statistics. The video was written, directed, and produced by Cameron W. Hatch and the cast includes (order of appearance) Mala Grewal, Sally Atkinson, Griffin Hatch, Jeff Hatch, Matt Burnham, and Sylvia Burnham.

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  • This in-class demonstration combines real world data collection with the use of the applet to enhance the understanding of sampling distribution. Students will work in groups to determine the average date of their 30 coins. In turn, they will report their mean to the instructor, who will record these. The instructor can then create a histogram based on their sample means and explain that they have created a sampling distribution. Afterwards, the applet can be used to demonstrate properties of the sampling distribution. The idea here is that students will remember what they physically did to create the histogram and, therefore, have a better understanding of sampling distributions.
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  • Normality is a myth; there never has, and never will be, a normal distribution. A quote by Irish statistician and econometrician Roy C. Geary (1896 - 1983) found in "Biometrika" volume 34, 1947, page 241.

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  • Those who fear muddy feet will never discover new paths. A quote by American writer and teacher Paul Eldridge (1888- 1982) found in his book "Maxims for a Modern Man" (Thomas Yoseloff Publishing, 1965). The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.

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  • Indeed, it is always probable that something improbable will happen. A quote by American lawyer and Georgia Supreme Court jurist Logan Edwin Bleckley (1827 - 1907) written in his opinion in the case of Warren v. Purtell in 1879. The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.

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  • If you can't measure it, I'm not interested. A quote by Canadian educator and management theorist Laurence Johnston Peter (1919 - 1990) from "Peter's People" in "Human Behavior" (August, 1976; page 9). The quote also appears in "Statistically Speaking: A dictionary of quotations" compiled by Carl Gaither and Alma Cavazos-Gaither.

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  • Those who ignore Statistics are condemned to reinvent it. A quote attributed to Stanford University professor of Statistics Bradley Efron (1938 - ) by his colleague Jerome H. Friedman in a talk to the 29th Symposium on the Interface (May 1997, Houston) and in a paper "The role of Statistics in the Data Revolution" later published in "International Statistical Review" (2001; vol. 69, pages 5 - 10).

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  • This limerick was written by Columbia University professor of biostatistics, Joseph L. Fleiss (1938 -2003). It was published along with three other limericks by Dr. Fleiss in a letter to the editor of "The American Statistician" (volume 2; 1967, page 49). It was written while he worked as a biostatistician at the Department of Mental Hygiene of the State of New York just prior to receiving his Ph.D. and joining the faculty at Columbia.
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