Understanding Measurement Units of Data

Understanding Measurement Units of DataJennifer NickellAshley WhiteheadNC State Universityjnickel@ncsu.edu

NCCTM State ConferenceGreensboro, NCOctober 31, 2014Difference between Mathematics and StatisticsStatistics requires a different kind of thinking, because data are not just numbers, they are numbers with a context (Moore & Cobb, 1997, p.801).Statistics is its own discipline not a branch of mathematicsMathematics we solve for the right answerStatistics utilizes mathematics but is more!Interpreting the context to answer a question

Statistical Investigative CycleAre these contexts reasonable?Data: 32, 20, 38, 35, 36, 28, 68, 33

Pounds lost on a weight loss program

Ages of new mothers

Length of womens hair

Pounds- 68 is commercial weight loss extremeAges 68 is old for a mom unless adoptedLength units? Inches is too long4What is a reasonable context?21, 30, 8, 2, 15, 18, 25, 6, 13

73, 97, 86, 80, 67, 107, 89, 116, 72

#1 Days of the month#2 length of a movie in minutes5U.S. Census at Schoolhttp://www.amstat.org/censusatschool/Students in Grades 4 12 Complete a personal information surveyAnalyze class resultsCompare their results nationally or internationallySample Data Set

Notes about spreadsheet: Importance of units of measurement, allow students to download a random sample and explore the data for unreasonable answers and make a claim why they are unreasonable6Personal Information SurveyAnimation of 6th Graders

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jnickel@ncsu.eduanwhiteh@ncsu.edu