Mathematics Assessment Project
Sampling and Estimating: Counting Trees
Your task today: count all the trees on a tree farm. To complete the assignment, learners first estimate the number of trees on a tree farm using random sampling. To improve their own response they then evaluate provided...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Population Genetics, Selection, and Evolution
The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that alleles and genotypes remain constant in the absence of evolutionary influences. Scholars complete a simple hands-on activity applying the Hardy-Weinberg principle to sample data. They observe how...
CCSS Math Activities
Smarter Balanced Sample Items: 7th Grade Math – Target G
Don't leave learning to chance! Assess your class's understanding of random sampling and making inferences using questions from the experts at Smarter Balanced. As the seventh of nine parts in the Gr. 7 Claim 1 Item Slide Shows...
Radford University
The Science of Surveys
To drill or not to drill? An informative unit has scholars first research the advantages and disadvantages of oil drilling in Alaska. They set up and conduct a sample survey to assess attitudes toward oil drilling in a specific...
American Statistical Association
More Confidence in Salaries in Petroleum Engineering
Making inferences isn't an exact science. Using data about salaries, learners investigate the accuracy of their inferences. Their analyses includes simulations and randomization tests as well as population means.
Curated OER
Population Growth in Yeasts
Learners design an investigation using yeast. For this environmental engineering lesson, students design an investigation to determine how environmental factors affect the growth of yeast. They will collect quantitative data and discuss...
National Security Agency
Sampling for a Rock Concert
Over the course of three class periods, middle schoolers design an experiment to provide learner input to administration about which rock band to invite to play at school. They practice several random sampling exercises, all well...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Stickleback Evolution Virtual Lab
How quickly do animals evolve? Can comparing different samples of the same fossil answer timeline questions? Scholars use virtual labs to examine fossils and learn about stickleback evolution. They compare pelvic morphology in lakes...
Curated OER
Wildlife Sampling-Capture-Recapture
Seventh graders simulate the capture-recapture method of population sampling using beans. In this biology lesson, 7th graders calculate the total population of beans in the bowl. They assess whether this method is reliable or not.
Curated OER
Designing a Study
Students explore features to consider when designing a scientific study. For this science research lesson, students examine different methods of data collection and consider which method would be appropriate for determining how many...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Random Samples: Estimating Population
With this estimating populations assignment, your class will learn about taking random population samples and calculating the average number of species in the samples to estimate the total population. Students use the given data to find...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Measuring Biodiversity in Gorongosa
Take your biology class' understanding of biodiversity to a whole new level! Ecology scholars use data to calculate three different diversity indices based on the organisms in the Gorongosa National Park. The four-part activity uses an...
Curated OER
Prairie Populations
Eleventh graders practice the Quadrat Survey Technique to analyze the biodiversity of a local plant community. They compare its biodiversity with the documented changes in biodiversity of the tallgrass prairie over time.
Curated OER
Assessing the quality of habitat for Monarch Butterflies
Students use different sampling methods to determine the population size and appropriate space for monarch butterflies. In this averages lesson plan, students complete word problems where they can accurately estimate the size of an...
Curated OER
Quadrat Sampling 101
Students explore the population of grass plants in a given area. They plan and conduct a sampling activity to estimate the population of dandelions or the number of grass blades on the school grounds.
Curated OER
Go Fish! Student Worksheet
A math and science worksheet prompts learners to simulate how scientists determine populations of animals out in the wild. They use goldfish crackers, paper bags, and a styrofoam cup as their tools. An excellent cooperative group activity!
Noyce Foundation
Ducklings
The class gets their mean and median all in a row with an assessment task that uses a population of ducklings to work with data displays and measures of central tendency. Pupils create a frequency chart and calculate the mean and median....
EngageNY
Comparing Distributions
Data distributions can be compared in terms of center, variability, and shape. Two exploratory challenges present data in two different displays to compare. The displays of histograms and box plots require different comparisons based...
Curated OER
Questioning NASA
Space science and math collide in this inquiry that investigates launching times for antacid-tablet rockets! Upper elementary or middle school learners collect data as they launch these mini rockets. They apply concepts of place value...
Indiana Science
How Many E’s?
Seventh graders explore random sampling by estimating the number of e's on the newspaper. They explain the possible error sources for this type of sampling, and compare the accuracy of sampling a small and large population. This is a...
Curated OER
Snake in the Grass: Capture/Recapture Activity
Learners estimate the total number of species in Ecuador using the capture/recapture method. They collect data about each species and act as members of a science expedition to determine the total number of species by using mathematical...
Curated OER
Lincoln Index
Students use a similar method to the Lincoln Index to estimate a population size.
Curated OER
Wildlife Burrows
Burrowing animals are busy! Get your middle school ecologists busy as well by having them create a scale model of a burrowing population. They also design a PowerPoint or poster to explain their models.
Rice University
Introductory Statistics
Statistically speaking, the content covers several grades. Featuring all of the statistics typically covered in a college-level Statistics course, the expansive content spans from sixth grade on up to high school. Material...