CHAPTER 3 Cooperative Group Activities 141 3. In-class activity Each student should estimate the number of tennis balls that can fit in the classroom that is currently being used. (A similar activity is often used to assess the problemsolving skills of job applicants.) Combine the estimates into one data set. Describe the distribution of the estimates, find the mean, and find the standard deviation. Is it likely that the mean of the estimates is reasonably close to the correct number of tennis balls? 4. Out-of-class activity Each student should obtain a sample of pennies. For each penny, find its age by subtracting the year that the penny was produced from the current year. Those ages should be combined into one data set. Identify the distribution of the ages, then find the mean and standard deviation. What do the results indicate about the pennies in circulation? 5. Out-of-class activity Each student should obtain a sample of data from a line of people waiting for a service. For each person, record the arrival time, the time waiting in line, and the time it took to complete the transaction. For each person, calculate the interarrival time, which is the difference in time between the person’s arrival and the arrival of the preceding person. For each of the following sets of sample data, describe the distribution and then find the mean and standard deviation: interarrival times, waiting times, service times. 6. In-class activity Complete the following table, and then compare variation for each ride at 10 AM. See Data Set 33 “Disney World Wait Times.” Space Mountain It’s a Small World Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Tower of Terror Avatar Flight of Passage Na’vi River Journey Standard Deviation Range 7. Out-of-class activity Record the times that cars are parked at a gas pump, and describe important characteristics of those times. 8. Out-of-class activity Several websites, such as www.gasbuddy.com, are designed to provide a list of local gas prices. Obtain a list of local gas prices and explore the data using the methods of this chapter and Chapter 2. 9. Out-of-class activity Data Set 39 “Chocolate Chip Cookies” in Appendix B includes counts of chocolate chips in five different brands of cookies. Obtain your own sample of chocolate chip cookies and proceed to count the number of chocolate chips in each cookie. Use the data to generate a histogram and any other suitable graphs. Find the descriptive statistics. Compare your chocolate chip counts to those given in Data Set 39. Are there any differences? Explain. 10. Out-of-class activity Appendix B includes many real and interesting data sets. In each group of three or four students, select a data set from Appendix B and analyze it using the methods discussed so far in this book. Write a brief report summarizing key conclusions. 11. Out-of-class activity In each group of three or four students, collect an original data set of values at the interval or ratio level of measurement. Provide the following: (1) a list of sample values; (2) software results of descriptive statistics and graphs; and (3) a written description of the nature of the data, the method of collection, and important characteristics.
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