Data from Populations Math Games

In this series of games, your students will learn to use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. The Data from Populations 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 7.SP.B.4 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

If all measurements in a population are known, no sampling is necessary and data comparisons involve the calculated measures of center. For distributions in which the mean is the better measure of center, variation is measured in terms of how far the data values deviate from the mean. Calculate how far each value is above or below the mean. Determining deviations from the mean is the first step to build a measure of variation based on the spread to either side of the center.

Averaging the absolute values of the deviations leads to a measure of variation that is used to describe the spread of data distribution and to compare distributions. This measure is called the mean absolute deviation, or MAD. Average the absolute values of the deviations from mean to determine MAD. Range (the difference between the minimum and maximum values in a data set) and interquartile range can be used as measures of comparative variability.

Use measures of variability to draw comparative inferences on two data sets. Use the median and mean to compare data sets. Use visual comparisons to make conjectures about the data.

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

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