Alaska Performance Standards
Grade 8
Statistics and Probability
The student demonstrates an ability to classify and organize data.
Lessons (10)
Students learn what bar graphs are used for, how to interpret the data presented, and how to organize their own data using bar graphs.
Introduces students to quartiles and box plots.
Introduction and fine points of using bar graphs and histograms.
This lesson allows students to learn what bar graphs are used for, how to interpret the data presented, and how to organize their own data using bar graphs.
Introduces statistical measures of center.
This lesson will challenge students to think creatively by having them design and build water balloon catchers from random scrap materials, while requiring them to take into consideration a multitude of variables. Students will then construct at least two bar graphs to be used in a commercial advocating the purchase of their group's catcher.
Looks at statistics and data analysis concepts from the practical questions that arise in everyday life.
Introduces students to stem-and-leaf plots and calculating the mean, median, and mode from the plots.
Introduces the normal distribution and looks at the bell curve controversy.
Students learn about the difference between univariate and bivariate data and understand how to choose the best graph to display the data.
Activities (16)
Enter data to create a bar graph, then change many settings for the graph's appearance.
Sort colored shapes into a bar graph. Practice sorting by shape or by color. Appropriate for elementary grades. Bar Graph Sorter is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers.
Students can create box plots for either built-in or user-specified data as well as experiment with outliers. User may choose to use or not use the median for calculation of interquartile range.
Enter your own data categories and the value of each category to create a pie chart. There are also built in data sets which can be viewed.
This applet allows the user to experiment with randomly generated data sets at various sample sizes and standard deviations. Then, users can compare the distribution of the experimental data to the expected distribution.
View histograms for built-in or user-specified data. Experiment with how the size of the class intervals influences the appearance of the histogram. Parameters: Data sets, class sizes.
Enter data and view the mean, median, variance, and standard deviation of the data set. Parameters: Number of observations, range for observations, which statistics to view, identifiers for the data.
Enter data to create a double bar graph, then manipulate the graph's maximum and minimum values.
Change the standard deviation of an automatically generated normal distribution to create a new histogram. Observe how well the histogram fits the curve, and how areas under the curve correspond to the number of trials. Parameters: standard deviation, number of trials, class intervals.
Create a pie chart, adjusting the size of the divisions using your mouse or by entering values. Parameters: Number of sections, size of sections, whether to use percents or fractions.
PlopIt allows users to build dot plots of data using the mouse. View how the mean, median, and mode change as entries are added to the plot. Parameters: Range for observations.
Sort colored shapes into a Venn diagram based on various characteristics. Venn Diagram Shape Sorter is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers.
Change the median and standard deviation of an automatically generated normal distribution to create a skewed distribution, allowing you to observe properties like what it means for the mean, median, and mode to be different. Parameters: median, standard deviation, number of trials, class intervals.
View stem-and-leaf plots of your own data, and then practice finding means, medians and modes. Stem and Leaf Plotter is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers.
Sort colored shapes into a three circle Venn Diagram.
Classify various objects into categories in a Venn Diagram. Learn how categories in Venn Diagrams work. Venn Diagrams is one of the Interactivate assessment explorers.