Park City Mathematics Institute
Data, Statistics, and Probability

Exercise and Cholesterol Level
by Oscar Chavarria, Judith Carlin, and Meiling Dang

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Student Activity:
    PDF format

Teacher Notes:
    PDF format

WHAT IS IT?

A Fathom 2 classroom activity that could be adapted for work in groups or individual project depending on the experience of the students in data analysis asks the question: Is this reasonable?

Through simulation, students investigate how likely, or unlikely, it is to obtain results similar to those presented in a hypothesized study. Multiple samples and measures are then collected using Fathom. The activity concludes by discussing how the original experimental design can be improved.

GRADE LEVEL
7 - 12

STRAND
Statistics

CLASS TIME
40-50 minutes for activity

SETTING
Part I is designed to be done in groups of two or three. Part II can be done as a whole-class discussion. Part III is an extension activity that can be assigned individually.

MATERIALS
    TI-83, TI-84 (or equivalent capable graphing calculators)
    Computer with Fathom™ 2 software

OBJECTIVES
  • Use Fathom to analyze data and create a simulation
  • Determine the reasonableness of experimental probabilities
  • Interpreting experimental designs and types of bias

PREREQUISITES

Statistics:
  • Familiarity with a variety of visual displays: histogram and other plots
  • Familiarity with comparing groups, making conclusions about groups with evidence
  • Analyzing the information in a visual display

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IAS/Park City Mathematics Institute is an outreach program of the School of Mathematics
at the Institute for Advanced Study, Einstein Drive, Princeton, NJ 08540
Send questions or comments to: Suzanne Alejandre and Jim King

With program support provided by Math for America

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0314808.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.