American Statistical Association
Scatter It! (Predict Billy’s Height)
How do doctors predict a child's future height? Scholars use one case study to determine the height of a child two years into the future. They graph the given data, determine the line of best fit, and use that to estimate the height in...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
Scientists use ice core samples to obtain temperatures of the earth from 400,000 years ago! The third of five lessons instructs pupils to interpret historical climate data to see changes over time. In part I, participants interpret...
Nuffield Foundation
Intrepreting Information about Sweating and Temperature
Why do we sweat? Scholars analyze data about body temperature, sweating, and other factors to better understand sweating. They note the changes after drinking ice water to sweating, skin temperature, and body temperature. Analysis...
American Statistical Association
Happy Birthday to . . . Two?
How many people do you need in a room before two likely share the same birthday? Scholars consider this puzzle by analyzing a set of data. They ponder how to divide the data and determine the proper size of a group for this event to...
American Statistical Association
Bear Hugs
Scholars research arm span to determine who gives the best bear hugs. They use data from a national study to find the standard statistics for arm span. It includes mean, median, quartiles, spread, standard deviation, and more.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
Ice core samples give scientists access to climates of old—those from more than 800,000 years ago. Through an analysis of various temperature graphs from ice cores, tree rings, and weather stations, scholars compare historical climates...
Rainforest Alliance
Forests of Guatemala
With 90 percent of its land area covered in forests, Suriname, a country in South America, contains the largest percentage of forests throughout the world. Here is an activity that brings classmates together to learn about the...