 AP Course Information  Where do I find important information?  Remind  What is Statistics?  Why AP Statistics?  Info on Mr. Suarez  Procedures and Expectations  Student Survey  Homework preview

 Visit my website at

 Two “golden” courses that professors at most universities look for in college applications › AP Computer Science › AP Statistics  If you get a 3 or higher, you get college credit  Studies show that even if you don’t pass the AP Exam, being exposed to the rigor of an AP curriculum will help you be more successful

 My Bachelor’s degree is actually in Ethnic Studies (but I have a minor in math)  I have a Master’s degree in Mathematics Education  I also have a Texas Master Mathematics Teacher certification  This is my 3 rd year teaching AP Statistics, but my 8 th year teaching at Travis overall

 Homework every night  Videos to watch  A surprising amount of writing and interpretation  Most topics will require a TI-83plus or TI-84 (calculators will be issued)  Most problems are based on real-life data  A need for extra help

 You will be “randomly” placed in groups  Expect to work together often (it is the key to success in college!)  Participate  Do not wait until the last minute  AP prep will be embedded into units

 85% Summative Assessments  15% Formative Assessments  Wait, so homework doesn’t count? What if I don’t want to do it? › Your summative and formative assessments will have practice problems shown from the videos. › Self-guidance is an important skill to learn for college.

 Your first statistics question:  Is 99 a good number for you?  If it is, stand up.

Is 99 a good number for you if it’s your…… Bowling score? Golf score? Grade in AP Statistcs? Monthly salary? Hourly salary?In cents? Age?

So just a number isn’t good enough! We must know what they mean. This is the class that ties the numbers to an application.

Statistics – why it’s different from your other math classes Based on inductive rather than deductive reasoning. Answers are not made with complete certainty. Clearly writing an explanation of your answer IN CONTEXT is required for most problems. Actual short essays on tests. ……what a treat! Common sense is a real asset! Reading the text is strongly advised. Fewer homework problems – quality not quantity

Variable (def.) – any characteristic of a person or thing that can be expressed as a number or counted

Statistics – why it’s different from your other math classes Based on inductive rather than deductive reasoning. Answers are not made with complete certainty. Clearly writing an explanation of your answer IN CONTEXT is required for most problems. Actual short essays on tests. ……what a treat! Common sense is a real asset! Reading the text is strongly advised. Fewer homework problems – quality not quantity

Variable (def.) – any characteristic of a person or thing that can be expressed as a number or counted

Data (def.) – the numbers or information collected in a study or experiment. The singular is datum.

Two forms of data: ● quantitative ● categorical A rating system of superior, good, average, and poor Times in seconds to run a mile Social security numbers Student test grades ranging from 1 to 100 Heights of people recorded in inches Zip codes Percentages of students in each class who master a particular skill

Example: Study of different ethnic groups in a Chicago retirement community. 1=White 2=African American 3=Asian 4=Other racefreq Total = 60 Mean = 1.98

Tickets issued in Williamson county 15, years old and over 10,000 under 35 years old

Advanced Placement Grades 2012 # of candidates # of grades percent 3+ # Last year 791 students taking 2046 tests with 85% earning a 3 or better.

Half the kids in the U.S. are below the national average!

Annual deaths by drugs Tobacco400,000 Alcohol 90,000 Cocaine 8,000 Heroin 6,000 From A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper by John Paulos – pg 134

Survey question: What are you indecisive about? 50% unsure 50% don’t know from David Letterman show 3/16/06

Which is more frightening? a)1 out of 100,000 citizens in the U.S. have been diagnosed with the swine flu b) 3000 cases of the swine flu have been diagnosed in the U.S.

Alien Invasion! $100 million worth of damage is done to the U.S. economy as a result of alien plants and animals, according to Bob Goodlatte, a House agriculture subcommittee chairman. From Reader’s Digest July 2004, pg 154

The average American worker spends ten minutes each workday during Super Bowl week talking about football, costing employers $800 million in lost productivity, according to a Chicago research firm. From Reader’s Digest July 2004, pg 154

Questions to ask about data ● What variable is being used? ● What instrument was used to make the measurement? ● What are the units of measure? ● How are the data recorded?

Newcomb’s sample measurements for the time passage of light: & But he wrote: 28 & –2 What was he doing?

descriptive statistics: methods of organizing, displaying, and describing data using tables, graphs, and summary measures inferential statistics: uses collected data to make generalizations about the entire group. Produces answers to specific questions and a statement of how confident we can be that the answer is correct. (NOTE: We cannot predict with absolute certainty! We cannot make predictions about individual cases!)

populationsample parameter statistic

“They’ve taken a poll this weekend and come to the conclusion that 51% of Americans are in the majority.” From Saturday Night Live – Weekend Update

Homework? My sincere apologies! Of course……every night! But then again