Topic 5

Statistics

Descriptive statistics, the normal distribution, and reading the graphs you run into in the news — plus a first pass at margin of error.

First time here? Take a tour of the week.

80 pts 7 objectives

What you'll learn

Differentiate between types of statistics.
Apply statistics to solve problems.
Use descriptive statistics and graphs to solve application problems.
Decide if the normal distribution is an appropriate model for a given data set.
Solve problems using the properties of the normal distribution.
Interpret data from different types of graphs.
Explain how standard deviation and margin of error relate to statistical surveys.

Sections

Mini Lesson A quick read on the week's core ideas. ~250 words. DQ 1: Discussion Walkthrough, posting rhythm, and what the DQ is really asking. DQ 2: Discussion Walkthrough, posting rhythm, and what the DQ is really asking. Review Six worked questions to practice before ALEKS.

Interactive tools

Playground Normal Distribution Explorer Drag the mean, the standard deviation, and a cutoff value. The bell curve shifts and resizes; the empirical-rule bands recolor; the shaded P(X < x) region updates in real time. Watch what "two standard deviations from the mean" actually means. Playground Center & Spread Visualizer Paste a list of numbers, get the mean / median / mode / range / sample SD, and see them plotted on a dot plot. Flip on the outlier toggle to watch the mean lurch while the median holds — the central insight of why we use the median for skewed data.

Tools & Resources

Library Topic 5 resource library Curated extras across all 6 lessons. 2 items available so far. Study aid Glossary Every vocab term across the 6 lessons in one study sheet. 30 terms so far. Study aid Cheat sheet Key formulas, common mistakes, and quick-reference factors. Printable for the test.