Math 151 , Fall 2004, Day 3, Wednesday Sept.1 Hit reload to get most current versionAfter class

Class email list: Math151@wells.edu. (Wells email only) Tell me if you didn't get the notice .

HW assignment  Day3  (From Moore unless otherwise noted.)
Reading:   rest of 1.1, 1.2: to p. 32 for this hw.
Ahead: For next assignment day 4:  5-number summary and boxplots, to p. 37,
        +  annotated 5-number summary page handout (Will behanded out next time),
        +   ( standard deviation & summary), p. 37- 42.
Do the means and medians required here by hand (with a calculator).  Make the timeplot(s) by hand.
Hand in 
review: p. 14, 1.8

p. 19 1.10 (time: trend&cycles)
Make a timeplot of McGuire's HR's (data p. 28, or p.23, 1.19)  Any trend? 

p. 32 1.28 (C-sec. mean and med.)
   1.29 (rich: mean or med?)
p. 45, 1.48 (mean or median?)

Read, to discuss (be able to answer in class)

p. 69 1.74 (hospital discharges)
 
 

p.45, 1.46 (net worth) &47 (athletes)
 http://www.whfreeman.com/scc Choose "Statistical Applets",Mean &Median. Check out symmetric,
 skewed, distributions with outliers.

Optional 
(review: p. 14, 1.7  describe lighning, Shakesp.)
p. 22ff, 1.21 (time:
flu-lag)
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Sec 1.1, cont.
Data:  Numbers (usually) in context:  What, Who (how many), Why?  When and Where? How?
     Hair color:  influenced by how asked?
        Spelling:  "Code" to numbers for computer.  Open-ended vs. list of choices.
        When?  class has changed since this compilation, not all data was there last time.
Distribution of one variable:  what values, how many (or what proportion) of each.
Graphical summaries of data: Area represents proportion.
       Quantitative: Shape (symmetric, skewed (think smeared, or sliding) right or left),
             (Humps:  uni- or bi- modal (multi-)   Two humps = two "causes"?)
              Center, spread--rough eyeballing--specific measures next

Stemplot: review, split leaf 5 ways.  (HW questions?)
Dotplot for shoe size.
Choosing a display (by hand):  Note bottom of p. 38, fig. 1.12, use of a dot plot to display a data set of size n = 7.
    A dot plot is most useful for n = 3 to about 15-20, or when the data only fall on a few values (just stack the dots up).
    A stemplot is good for continuous data, smeared around; you can do 100 values in 3-5 minutes.

What do we see?  What can we infer? (Introduction)
    Data source? Lurking variables?  (pulse: stair climb)
    Variability happens.   Things settle down on average, BUT inferences are never certain.
    Statistics gives us a language for talking about uncertainty.
HW questions?

Time plot. (pp. 17-19) Time on horiz. axis, values on vertical.  trend? (general slope up or down). Cyclic?.
  --Beware of extrapolation --predicting a time trend into the future.
  -- Research data: time, or order of taking measurements, is often a lurking variable.  Always do a time plot.

Section 1.2:  Summarizing distribution info with numbers
Measures of middle (central tendency)
        --Colloquially "average" can refer to any measure of middle, so watch out; be more specific.
    Mean (most common "average"):  Take sum (aggregate) of all observations and divide by how many (n)
        Metaphors.  1) Center of gravity, balance point of histogram.
                2) Slice off bits from the big and add to the little till everyone has the same.
                    (Or "aggregate"--total-- it all and portion it out evenly.)
        Outlier or long tail will pull mean in that direction (think seesaw balancing)  "Sensitive" to outliers, skewness.
        Especially useful: 1) For symmetric, tidy distributions
            2) When metaphor 2 makes sense--looking for "fair share" of a total.
    Median: half are bigger, half are smaller
        Point on histogram with half the area to the left, half to the right.
        Calculating:  Put observations in numerical order (stemplot!).
                          Middle one if n is odd, or average the 2 middle  if n is even.
                Formula:  Count in how far?  (n+1)/2 places.  (7 1/2 places? go halfway =average the 7th and 8th observations)
        "Resistant to skewness and outliers"--trimming off ends will make little difference in median value.
        More "typical" than mean, if there is skewness or outliers.
     (Badly bimodal distribution--"middle" doesn't mean much.)
    Symmetric distribution: mean = median
Author's website http://www.whfreeman.com/scc Select a Category, choose "Statistical Applets", Mean &Median. Check out symmetric, skewed, distributions with outliers.


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