Module Eight Lesson One Guided Notes Name_____________________

Module Eight Lesson One Introduction – PARAMETERS AND STATISTICS

Statistics is one of the branches of mathematics that is used all around you and you might not even realize it!
Have you ever seen a survey on Facebook? Did you answer the questions that were being asked? What were they
going to do with the data that was collected from the sample of people on Facebook that answered the
survey? Surveys completed by Facebook users can generate data that is used to change things from the color
scheme of a page to a campaign strategy!
In this section, you will explore the difference between a population and a sample and why samples are used to
represent the population. In addition, you will explore how the means and proportions from a sample can provide
important data about the population. Finally, you will learn why it’s important to communicate the results of a
study or experiment with the general population. Have fun!

LESSON OVERVIEW
You see statistics around you every day, you just might not realize it! In this section we are going to take a look at
why someone might ask you if you text and drive. Your answer would be part of a sample that allows researchers
to figure out the proportion of people that text and drive. What do they do with that research? Make new laws! In
this lesson you will be taking a look at the importance of gathering samples that produce reliable data from
surveys you are collecting or experiments that you are conducting.

Lesson Objectives & Standards

Learning Objectives—By the end of this lesson, you will:
1- Describe the difference between a population and a sample.
2- Explain why we use a sample to make inferences about a population.
3- Distinguish the difference and purpose between sample surveys, observational studies, and
experiments.
4- Identify the parameter of interest in an experiment/scenario.
5- Given data the student will calculate sample statistic- mean or proportion.
6- Generalize the result of a statistical study to make conclusions about a population based on the
sample.

KEY TERMS
Population - Everything or everyone being studied in an inference procedure.
Sample-   A subset of the population.  
Inferential Statistics/Inference - Using information from a sample to draw conclusions about corresponding
population.
Sample survey: A survey (or a questionnaire) that is given to a few members of the population. 
Observational studies- A method of collecting information about a population by observing subject without
imposing treatment (i.e., examining the health effects of smoking).
Experiments-A method of applying a treatment to a group and recording the effects.
Placebo - It is a “fake” treatment. 
Treatment Group - The group In an experiment that receives the treatment. 
Control Group - The group in the experiment that receives the placebo. 
Comparative experiment-   A control group is given a placebo to compare the reactions between the treatment
group(s) and the control group.
Statistical study- A study where data is collected and the statistics (means, proportions, etc.) are examined.
Parameter-Any numerical value that comes from data collected from a population. 
Statistic-Any numerical value that comes from data collected from a sample.   
Sample mean- The mean/average that is found from a sample.
Sample proportion-The proportion that is found from a sample.  
Population mean- The mean/average that is found from a defined population. 
Population proportion-The proportion that is found from a sample. 
Census - Taking a sample of every individual member of the population. For example, when the entire population
of the United States is counted that is a census.

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Notes One - Population Vs. Sample

Population is -

Key:

_______________________________________________________________

Examples of a defined population:

Census is -taking a sample of every individual member of the population. For example, when the
entire population of the United States is counted that is a census.

If your high school was your population what would the census be?

_______________________________________________________________

Thought question: Why do you think a census is impractical?

Sample is -

Key:

_____________________________________________________________

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Population Vs. Sample

Inferential Statistics/Inference -

Why do we use a sample and not the population?

_______________________________________________________________

What does inference allow us to do?

________________________________________________________________

Sample from the Population

1) The student council at your high school decides to survey the local restaurants in order to
determine what restaurants are popular for students to attend after football games. From an
alphabetical list on White Pages.com the student council chooses 75 restaurants at random. Of
these 75 restaurants only 32 returned the questionnaire. Identify the population and the sample.

Population: ________________________________________

Sample: ___________________________________________

2.) Verizon is trying to determine if it is worth their time and effort to extend their Fios lines
to small towns in NC. The process is expensive and time consuming and they wonder if they will
make enough money to support the installation. They go to Smallville, NC and survey the entire
town to see what proportion of people would purchase their internet services.

Population: ________________________________________

Sample: ___________________________________________

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Why uses a sample?

If we want to gather information on all the high school students in NC, then why don’t we
contact ALL the high school students in NC??

1.) ________________________________________________________

2.) ________________________________________________________

3.) ________________________________________________________

Why do we need good samples?

Getting a good sample is very important. Without a good sample we can’t make a reliable
conclusion about the population. Without a good sample our results are worthless!

Let’s say you go to the ice cream store, and you get a sample of mint chocolate chip ice cream before
you purchase it. One bite is a good representation of the POPULATION flavor for that stores mint
chocolate chip ice cream. However, maybe you decided you wanted moose tracks ice cream. Why is
the sample of mint chocolate chip ice cream not a good sample for the moose track?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

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Examples of Good Samples
Let’s take a look at the scenarios below and see what a good sample looks like.

1) You want to estimate how many students at your high school text during class.

Good Sample:

___________________________________________________________

Bad Sample:

___________________________________________________________

2) You want to estimate how many teenagers in the United States have had an accident while
texting and driving.

Good Sample:

__________________________________________________________

Bad Sample:

___________________________________________________________

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Notes Two - What’s a Good Sample?

As a quick reminder it’s important to choose a good sample that represents the population. What
exactly does that mean?

That means that your sample needs to look like a mini population.

You decide that you want to study how long students at Wi-Fi High School are spending on social
media. There are 2,500 students at Wi-fi High School. There are students that are in grades 9 - 12,
some have cell phones, and some do not. Some students are taking a large course load including AP
courses and some are not. Some students participate in extracurricular activities such as sports
and band. If we want our sample to be a mini population, what should it look like?

You decide - which one is a mini population?

Scenario 1: You go to the soccer field and after practice ask every soccer player how many hours,
they spend on social media each day.

● Yes, or no? (Circle one)

Why? ______________________________________________________

Scenario 2: You stand outside the library after every period and ask everyone that comes out how
many hours they spend on social media.

● Yes, or no? (Circle one)

Why? ______________________________________________________

Scenario 3: Since English is a required subject for all grades you go to every English class, close
your eyes and point to 5 names on the roster and ask each of those students how many hours they
spend on social media.

● Yes, or no? (Circle one)

Why? ______________________________________________________

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Using a Sample to Make Inferences

Scenario 3 wins! What do we do with our information now?

You have gone to all of the English classes at Wi-fi High School, taken a sample of 5 students, and
asked how many hours they spend on social media. You then find the average amount of time from
your sample that students spend on social media. The average from your sample is 2.3 hours. What
do we do with this?

We are going to:

● ___________________________________________________________

Population Means and Proportions

Parameter-any numerical value that comes from data collected from a population.

Population means- the mean/average that is found from a defined population. ________

Population proportion-the proportion that is found from a defined population ________

Sample Means and Proportions

Statistic-any numerical value that comes from data collected from a sample.

Sample mean- the mean/average that is found from a sample. __________

Sample proportion-the proportion that is found from a sample.: __________

Think about- When we found the average amount of time that students spend on social media at
Wi-fi High School was this a statistic or parameter?

● This was a _____________________________

● This would be written as: ______________________________________
● The symbols are important because they tell you if you gathered the data from a
_____________________________

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Symbols Table
Parameter Symbol Statistics Symbol
(population) (sample)

Mean

Proportion

Identifying Statistics and Parameters

Identify the population, the parameter, the sample, and the statistic in each of the following
settings:
A pediatrician wants to know the average weight of all 15-year-old boys, so she takes a sample of 75
patients and calculates the average weight of the 75 patients. The average weight is 176 pounds.

Population Sample

Parameter Statistic

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You Try Video!

Scenario 1:

You want to study the study habits of those in your school – so you go to the library and ask 30
students how many hours of homework they do a week.

Is this a good representation of the population? __________________________

Why or why not? __________________________________________________

Is this using a sample mean or proportion? _____________________________

Scenario 2

You want to know how many students at your college campus play intramural sports. You stand
outside the gym and ask 25 students if they participate in intramural sports.

Is this a good representation of the population? __________________________

Why or why not? _________________________________________________________

Is this using a sample mean or proportion? _____________________________

Scenario 3

You want to know what percentage of student’s bike to school, so you stand in the school parking
lot and ask how many people bike to school.

Is this a good representation of the population? __________________________

Why or why not? _______________________________________________________

Is this using a sample mean or proportion? _____________________________

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Notes Three - Statistical Studies

In this lesson you will learn that there are three main ways to gather data:
1) ________________________________________________________
2) ________________________________________________________
3) ________________________________________________________

Statistical study-

In this section we are going to take a look at surveys, observational studies, and experiments. Why
do we use samples to help gather information? The goal is to answer some of the questions given
below. At the end of this section, you will be able to determine if a sample, survey, or experiment is
the best way to answer the following questions.

•Do students learn better when they are listening to music or in silence?

•Do SAT scores really go up if students attend a 6-week SAT seminar?

•Do students learn better when they are sitting in rows or when they are in a horseshoe pattern?

•Do students learn better if school starts at 7:30am or 9:00 am?

•Would students in elementary schools learn better if they had a chance to have a morning snack?

Sample survey- a survey (or a questionnaire) that is given to a few members of the population.

1) ________________________________________________________
2) ________________________________________________________
3) ________________________________________________________

Wording of the Question

The way in which a question in a survey is worded is very important. You want the answers to be
accurate - so that means you need to word the question so that it does not guide the person being
interviewed one way or the other. Take a look below at the two examples. Which one is worded so
that the interviewer will get accurate answers?

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1) On a scale of 1 - 5, with 1 being not stressful and 5 being highly stressful- how stressed do
you get by homework?

** Note here we can find the average stress level and use this information to see if the
school needs to do something to decrease stress levels!

2) Based on research done by an independent company, they estimated that 6% of trash in

today’s landfills comes from plastic water bottles. Given this information, what is your
opinion on placing a ban on plastic water bottles in the United States?

Observational studies-

This would be when you would:

1.)

2.)

3.)

After doing a very large study of coffee drinkers, the Arizona Daily Star wrote an article titled
“Coffee Buzz: Study Finds Java Drinkers Live Longer”.

● In this study they examined 400,000 people and the amount of coffee they drank per day.

● They took into consideration the amount people smoked, drank alcohol, and exercised.

● The study found that that coffee drinkers live a little longer than non-drinkers,
regardless of whether they drink regular or decaf.

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Explain how this is an observational study.

Experimental Studies

Experiments-

Placebo -

Treatment Group -

Control Group -.

Comparative experiment-

Why would we use an experiment instead of an observational study?

● We want to use an experiment when we want to determine cause and effect. What does this
mean?
● You can only establish cause and effect through experiments NOT observational studies.

Take a look at the experiment below and identify the vocabulary listed in the table.

Dr. Healthnut and her colleagues gathered 150 obese adults at the Heart Hospital in Raleigh, NC.
She wanted to determine whether or not eating a low carbohydrate diet would help to decrease
cholesterol levels and help to lose weight. Of the 150 adults she assigned one group to each a low
carb diet and the other a standard diet. At the one year and 2-year mark she measured the
participants change in cholesterol levels and weight.

Placebo

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 Treatment

Control

What are they comparing?

When would you use a sample survey, observational study, or experiment?

● You wanted to gather more information if a toll should be added to highway 66.

● How does vaping affect lungs in 20 years?

● Will providing students with 3 or 6 more minutes between classes allow them to get to
class on time?

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You Try!
Take a look at the three scenarios below. Explain why each of the following are misleading
questions.

1) Indicate whether you agree or disagree with the following statement:

“I feel welcomed by the coaches and athletes on my first day at lacrosse camp.”

2) During the last school year, the administration for a local school district wanted to see if
the community supported an increase in taxes to increase pay raises for teacher and more
technology for students. The survey was sent to every household in the school district.
One of the questions they asked was: “Even if you are not currently involved in the school,
do you think that we should raise taxes in order to increase funding for our schools?” 66%
of the respondents answered no.

___________________________________________________________

3) A local expert psychologist was looking at the effects of TV on younger children. She
personally went to 35 homes in the Durham area with preschool aged children. She asked
the following question: “Do you agree or disagree with the fact that if your child watches
more than 3 hours of TV per day then they will be less likely to sit still in kindergarten?”

___________________________________________________________

Question 1

Your family has decided to open up an Air B and B in their spare bedroom and bathroom. You want
to find out how the people staying at your Air B and B like their stay. Write a survey question that
will appropriately answer the question.

Question 2

Your community has decided to impose a curfew on drivers under 18. You believe that most parents
do not support this curfew. Write a survey question to find out what percentage of parents with
teenagers would support this curfew. Be careful not to include your opinion in the question!

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Finding the Sample Mean and Sample Proportion

Question 1

Jack Frost High School is trying to decide on whether or not they should remove the soda machine
from the cafeteria. The principal has stated that 75% of the students would support this. You
think this is crazy. You take a random sample of 250 students at your school and 75 say they
support taking out the soda machine. What is the sample proportion?

Outcome from the survey: ___________ The 75____________________

Sample Proportion: _______________________

Question 2

You are getting ready to figure out your monthly electric bill. The electric company recommends
that you budget $75.00 a month based on the building’s electric use. You think this is a lot! You
randomly sample 5 people in your apartment building with the same floor plan as yours and ask
what their monthly electric bill totals. They say $67, $35, $100, $72, $57. What is the sample mean?
Readings were: $67, $35, $100, $72, $57.

Sample Mean: _________________________________________________

Notes Four - Scenarios

During this module you have learned about samples and how we use samples to make inferences
about population.

In the scenarios you will be

1) deciding whether or not it’s an experiment or observation,

2) determining if we can make a conclusion and

3) make a decision on whether or not we can make inferences about the population.

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How will we know if we can make a conclusion?

1.

2.

Scenario 1
Does having a Bluetooth in the car reading text messages decrease driver distractions from the
road?

● Investigators randomly recruited 80 subjects to participate in an experiment.

● They had a driving simulator that was equipped with Bluetooth that read text messages
every time they were received.

● The researchers measured how many times the drivers took their eyes off the road.

● 40 participants completed the drive with a cell phone in the car while the other 40
participants completed the drive had their incoming text messages read to them via
Bluetooth.

● The route, driving conditions, and traffic flow was the same for both groups.

At the end of the drive the participants that had their text messages read to them looked away
from the road an average of 10 times. The participants that had their cell phone with them but did
not have their text messages read to them looked away from the road an average of 25 times.

What conclusions can you make from the study?

Let’s answer some questions regarding the study!

1) What conclusions can you make from the study?

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2) Was this an observational study, sample survey, or experiment?

Think about your answers before we move onto the next slides!

Scenario 2

Does the size of the class matter in grade performance for high school math in NC?

Will students do better on their End of Course Exams if they are in smaller classes?

● Researchers randomly chose and observed two Math III courses at Langley High School,
one with 15 students and the other with 30 students.

● At the end of the school year the average on the EOC for the class of size 15 was an 85% and
the class with size 30 was 75%.

Was this an observational study, sample survey, or experiment?

What conclusion can be made from the study?

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19
You Try!

With the growing use of technology by students in the classroom, many educators believe that
students rely solely on technology to solve even the simplest of problems. Their ability to analyze
and solve in depth problems has decreased significantly. Anything longer than the length of a
tweet means that students often lose interest in the task at hand.

Researchers decided to test whether or not banning cell phones increased math scores and
critical thinking skills. In the state of North Carolina, they randomly chose 15 high schools to
test. At those 15 high schools the researchers allowed half of the math classes to have cell phones
and computers in class and in the other half of the math classes the cell phones were collected at
the beginning of class. The researchers then gave a pretest to all math classes at the 15 high
schools to test the students critical thinking skills. The teachers at the 15 high schools taught a
set curriculum for 3 weeks. At the end of three weeks the students were given the same test again.
Researchers compared the results from the classes that were allowed technology versus those
that were not allowed technology. They found that at the end of three weeks the proportion of
students that were able to answer the critical thinking questions in the non-technology
classrooms was 66% and the proportion of students in the technology classrooms was 60%. Did
taking away the students’ cell phones help to increase the students critical thinking skills?

What is your conclusion?

1) ___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

Extra Notes:

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

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