AP Statistics Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. ----Plato

Here it comes….. 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 numbers mean. This is called “context”. This is the class that ties the numbers to an application.

Statistics (def. ) – The science of. collecting, organizing, Statistics (def.) – The science of collecting, organizing, and interpreting numerical facts, which we call data.

The beginning: In 1662, John Graunt published the “Bills of Mortality.”

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.

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

Annual deaths by drugs Tobacco 400,000 Alcohol 90,000 Cocaine 8,000 Heroin 6,000 From A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper by John Paulos – pg 134

“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

Questions to ask about data ● What variable is being used? Where was it recorded? Why was it recorded? When was it recorded? How was it recorded? (units of measure?)

Summarize How is Statistics Different from other math classes? What things are similar? Make a commitment now to have a great year!