Data Measure of Center and Variability Math Games

In this series of games, your students will learn to summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context. The Data Measure of Center and Variability learning objective — based on CCSS and state standards — delivers improved student engagement and academic performance in your classroom, as demonstrated by research. This learning objective directly references 6.SP.B.5.d as written in the common core national math standards.

Scroll down for a preview of this learning objective’s games and the concepts.

Concepts Covered

Describe the spread of the data. Center is measured by the median, a number arrived at by counting to the middle of an ordered array of numerical data. When the data set is even the median will be the average of the two middle numbers.  Quartiles are the medians of the lower and upper halves of the ordered data values. The quartiles separate the data into 4 sections that each contain the same amount of data points but vary in shape and size. The interquartile range (IQR) is the distance from the first and third quartile and is used to describe the variability of the data set.

Mean is the average of a data set and is found by adding all data points and then dividing by the number of data points. Distinguish between the median and mean. Outliers are numbers that are further in range than the rest of the data points to one extreme. Mean can heavily be influenced by an extreme data point or outlier. Describe if the data is symmetric and the shape if it is not and determine what measure would best represent the center of data.

Describe the data using the median and the IQR. Identify outliers from the data. Identify if the context for the data gathering could account for any variability. If there are multiple outliers to one extreme, the IQR could be the best measure of the center because it describes the spread of the middle 50% of the data. The measures chosen for describing the data should best represent the most amount of numbers in a data set. Identify if the mean or median would be the best measure of center for the data set.

A preview of each game in the learning objective is found below.

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