The Topic: Statistics & Probability Easier - A statistic is a fact or piece of information that is expressed as a number or percentage. The facts and figures that are collected and examined for information on a given subject are statistics. Probability is the likelihood of something happening or being true.   Harder - Statistics is a set of methods used to collect and analyze data. Those statistical methods help people identify, study, and solve a variety of problems. Statistics help people make good decisions about uncertain situations. Probability is used to describe events that do not occur with certainty.   People in varied occupations use statistics. Health professionals use statistical methods to determine whether a specific drug or procedure is useful in the treatment of medical problems. Weather forecasters use statistics to more accurately predict the weather. Engineers use statistics to benchmark standards for product safety and quality. Scientists employ statistical methods to design effective experiments. Economists apply statistical techniques in predicting future economic trends.   Statisticians analyze data in two varying ways: exploratory methods and confirmatory methods. Exploratory methods are used to analyze what the data seem to be saying. These exploratory methods often involve computing averages or percentages and displaying the data on some type of graph. Confirmatory methods apply ideas from probability theory in an attempt to answer specific questions.   Introduction to Descriptive Statistics http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/hill/dstat/dstat.html Designed for use in a classroom setting, this website uses both hands-on and 'virtual' activities to develop and establish the basic concepts of descriptive statistics. Other Introductory Statistics Sites: 2) Animated Statistics Demonstrations (Allow time to load) http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~wallacd1/ 3) Guide to Basic Laboratory Statistics (Advanced/college level) http://nimitz.mcs.kent.edu/~blewis/stat/stat.html 4) Meet Stanley Statistician from (Grades 5-7) United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) http://www.usda.gov/nass/nasskids/stanbio2.htm 5) Statistical Data Analysis: Prove It with Statistics (Advanced/college level) http://ubmail.ubalt.edu/~harsham/stat-data/opre330.htm 6) Statistical Instruction Internet Palette (SIIP) http://research.ed.asu.edu/siip/ 7) Statistics Tutorials by A. Dix http://www.meandeviation.com/tutorials/stats/   Introductory Statistics and Elementary Statistics from Weiss http://www.awl.com/weiss/ This website by the publisher of two well-known statistics textbooks has activities that follow instruction chapter by chapter. Other Online Instruction Websites: 2) Electronic Statistics Textbook from StatSoft, Inc. http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html 3) HyperStat Online (Online book & tutorial) by D.M. Lane http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/index.html 4) Introductory Statistics: Concepts, Models, and Applications by D.W. Stockburger, Southwest Missouri State University http://www.psychstat.smsu.edu/sbk00.htm 5) New View of Statistics by W.G. Hopkins http://www.sportsci.org/resource/stats/index.html 6) Social Science Reasoning Using Statistics! http://www.econ.ilstu.edu/Jack_Chizmar/ECO138/ 7) Statistics: The Study of Stability in Variation from UCLA http://ebook.stat.ucla.edu/textbook/ 8) SticiGui: Statistics Tools for Internet and Classroom Instruction with a Graphical User Interface by P.B. Stark http://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~stark/SticiGui/index.htm 9) Surfstat Australia http://www.anu.edu.au/nceph/surfstat/surfstat-home/surfstat.html   Probability by A. Bogomolny http://www.cut-the-knot.com/probability.html This is the site of a brief introductory history on probability. Scroll to the bottom of the page for lots of activities. Related Websites on Probability: 2) Percent and Probability from Math League http://www.mathleague.com/help/percent/percent.htm#whatisanevent 3) Playing to Win from Math in Daily Life, Annenberg/CPB http://www.learner.org/exhibits/dailymath/playing.html 4) Probability & Statistics Index (Advanced/college level) http://links.math.rpi.edu/webhtml/PSindex.html 5) Probability Net http://probabilitynet.com/   Probability and Statistics from the Math Forum http://mathforum.org/probstat/probstat.html This comprehensive math website connects to tons of resources, activities, and ideas related to probability and statistics. Related Websites: 2) Probability and Statistics by J. Walker from RetroPsychoKinesis Project http://www.fourmilab.ch/rpkp/experiments/statistics.html   After visiting several of the websites, complete one or more of the following activities.   Complete Some Online Statistics Activities. You will find lots of activities at CUWU Statistics Program. Here you can perform some simple data analyses, complete simulations of drawing tickets out of a box, play 'Monty Hall,' draw poker and see probable winning hands, and more. Teachers can set up a group so that your students can compete among themselves!   Complete Some Probability Activities. Follow the directions found at Roll-O Bingo (Grades 4-7), Shake, Rattle, and Roll - A Bean Game (Grades 4-7) from CanTeach, Male Bears Probability, or Its Not Fair!: She Always Wins from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Others may want to try one or more of the four similar online probability simulations at Monty Hall, 3 Doors, Monty Hall, Monty Hall Puzzler from CarTalk, and Now Playing Let's Make A Deal. Another online probability interaction can be found at Area Probability (Throw Darts!). Manipulate the size of the circle and the rectangle to explore the probability that a dart thrown into the rectangle will land in the circle. You can also click on the icons below the graph to see a table of your results. Another site that advanced learners might try is The Birthday Problem. Finally, you can find several challenging problems at Probability in My Garden.   Learn and Experiment. Visit Games of Chance and proceed through the 8 modules. Then conduct the related experiments.   Complete A Statistics / Probability WebQuest. Adapt or follow the procedures found at one or more of the following webQuest sites: 1) Are You Ready For Some Football? http://www.loudoun.k12.va.us/schools/ashburnannex/holt/KenDodson/FootballStatistics.html 2) Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball: Comparing Statistics http://www.wfu.edu/~mccoy/NCTM00/amy.html 3) Geometry Lesson On Probability (Grades 9-12) by D. Hash http://www.gumbo.appstate.edu/coop01/webquests/dsj/probability/lesson-template1.htm 4) Introduction to Probability (Advanced/college level) by J. Matovina http://www.nevada.edu/~matovina/webquest_prob.htm 5) It's a Thrill: Roller Coaster Statistics by A. Swick http://edservices.aea7.k12.ia.us/edtech/teacherpages/amswick/index.html 6) Let's Make A Deal Math: The Study of Probability (Grade 6) by L.D. Resch http://www.cyberbee.com/probability/mathprob.html 7) March Madness (Grades 6-8) http://www.madison.k12.ky.us/district/projects/WebQuest/MarchMadness/mmwebquest.html 8) Probability: Experimental vs. Theoretical (Grades 9-12) by L.L. King http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/Teachers/King/webquest%20Lori/webquest.htm 9) Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Grades 9-12) by S. Hallar http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/webquest/baseball/index.htm 10) Major Leagues http://students.itec.sfsu.edu/edt628/milenf/index.html#close 11) Titanic: What Can Numbers Tell Us About Her Fatal Voyage? (Grades 8-12) by T. Atkins & B. McManus http://asterix.ednet.lsu.edu/~edtech/webquest/titanic.html 12) Why on Earth Am I Taking Statistics? (Advanced / college level) by K. Anglin http://www.blinncol.edu/matheng/anglin/Statisticquest.htm   Create A Stats Quote Poster. Visit the Statistical Quote of the Day site. Then create a poster that illustrates and promotes the quote's concept or ideas. You may want to visit for a week, and then pick the best.   Read Some Statistics Jokes. You can find them at the Internet Gallery of Statistics Jokes by G. Ramseyer. Now see if you can write a statistics joke! Share it.   Websites By Kids For Kids Countnow (1999 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/28114/ This site looks at statistics on many topics of interest - - the flood of numbers available on subjects like life expectancy, global population, or traffic are counted in a different way.   Learning Statistics (2001 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/C0122162/ This website focuses on the statistical analysis required in scientific research, including descriptive statistics, parametric and non-parametric significance tests, and correlation/regression.   Probability Central (1997 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/11506/ This site contains a simple five-part introduction to basic probability theory with a review quiz. Topics covered include probability properties, models, and rules. A poker game illustrates the laws of probability in a real-life situation, the probability calculator gives the likelihood of two different events both happening or either happening at the same time, and there are also links to related sites.   Probability Plaza (2000 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/C006087/ Learn about probability - from the most basic to advanced topics. Nate, the genius, will help you as you learn data analysis, combinatorics, real-world probability applications, and more through interesting, fun, challenging exercises.   Statistics (Section of Seeing Is Believing, 1997 ThinkQuest Internet Challenge) http://library.thinkquest.org/10030/statcon.htm This project houses a great online statistics tutorial. Learn about statistical representations of data (frequency distributions, graphs, percentiles); statistical measures of data (central tendency, variation); probability concepts; random variables; discrete variables and more.   More Websites for Stats and Probability Charts & Graphs from eduScapes 42eXplore http://www.eduscapes.com/42explore/graphs.htm Find lots of resources and activities on charts and graphs at this companion project site. Related Website: 2) Meet Pie Chart Pam from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) http://www.usda.gov/nass/nasskids/pambio.htm    Data and Story Library (DASL) http://lib.stat.cmu.edu/DASL/DataArchive.html 'Dazzle' is an online library of data files and stories that illustrate the use of basic statistics methods.   Internet Glossary of Statistical Terms from the Animated Software Company http://www.animatedsoftware.com/statglos/statglos.htm If there are statistical words you do not understand, find it in this alphabetical listing and click for the definition/explanation.   Simple Interactive Statistical Analysis http://home.clara.net/sisa/ Here is a collection of procedures for performing simple statistical calculations online, using HTML forms at this site. Other Online Stats Calculation Sites: 2) Descriptive Statistics http://www.physics.csbsju.edu/stats/descriptive2.html 3) Descriptive Statistics from iFigure http://www.ifigure.com/math/stat/descript.htm 4) Interactive Statistical Calculation Pages http://members.aol.com/johnp71/javastat.html   Statistics & Probability Letters (Advanced/college level) from Elsevier Science http://www.elsevier.nl/inca/publications/store/5/0/5/5/7/3/ This is the website for an international journal covering all fields of statistics and probability, and providing an outlet for rapid publication of short communications in the field. Other Online Journals for Statistics & Probability: 2) Chance http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/ 3) Journal of Statistics Education http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/ 4) Probability and Statistics Journals on the Web (Links-site) http://www.stat.ucla.edu/~tom/ProbStatJ.phtml   Statistics On the Web by C. Helberg http://www.execpc.com/~helberg/statistics.html This massive links-site connects to tons of statistics resources. Another Huge Links-site: 2) Links Related to Statistics Education by J. Puranen http://noppa5.pc.helsinki.fi/links.html   StatLib http://lib.stat.cmu.edu/index.php This website provides a system for distributing statistical software, data sets, and information online.   Some Data Sources Baseball Stats from CNN/Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/ml/stats/ Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/ ChildTrends http://www.childtrends.org/ Data and Statistics from Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/scientific.htm Demography & Population Resources/Links at Population Studies and Training Center, Brown University http://www.pstc.brown.edu/resources.html Emerging 21st Century Family from The National Opinion Research Center http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/online/emerge.htm Facts & Figures at International Tennis Federation http://www.itftennis.com/html/fact/frameset.html Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics http://childstats.gov/ FedStats http://www.fedstats.gov/ Hockey Statistics Archive at Internet Hockey Database http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/index.html KidsCount at The Annie E. Casey Foundation http://www.aecf.org/publications/index.htm#kidscount Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of American Youth http://monitoringthefuture.org/ National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/ National Center for Health Statistics http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/ National Data Analysis System from Child Welfare League of America http://ndas.cwla.org/default.asp National Football League Stats http://www.nfl.com/stats/ National Statistics from the United Kingdom http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ Player Stats from Baseball Almanac http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/ballplayer.shtml Real Time Data Sites (Links-site) from Stevens Institute of Technology http://k12science.ati.stevens-tech.edu/realtimedatasites.html Social Statistics Briefing Room from the Whitehouse http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/ssbr.html Social Science Information Gateway (SOIG) http://www.sosig.ac.uk/roads/subject-listing/World-cat/stats.html Sociometrics Data and Instrument Archives http://www.socio.com/data.htm Statistical Briefing Book at Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/index.html Statistical Resources on the Web / Health from Document Center, University of Michigan http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/sthealth.html Statistics from National Basketball Association http://www.nba.com/statistics/default_regular_season_leaders/LeagueLeadersPPGQuery.html Statistics from Service Industries Trends http://www.sitrends.org/statistics/ Stats from National Hockey League http://nhl.com/onthefly/stats/index.html Uniform Crime Reports from Federal Bureau of Investigation http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/   Websites For Teachers Chance by J.L, Snell, P. Doyle, J. Garfield, T. Moore, B. Peterson, and N. Shah http://www.dartmouth.edu/~chance/ This site contains materials to help teach a "Chance" course, a quantitative literacy course.   Chi-Square by A. Patel http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/patel/chisquare/intro.html This amusing lesson leads to understanding statistical terms such as expectation, significance, and chi-square. The lesson requires the Excel software program.   Data Analysis and Probability (Grades 9-12) http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/stat/stat.html Here is a list of resources in Data Analysis and Probability including lessons and useful data sets.   Images for Instruction in Probability and Statistics from R.L. Sleight. http://www.bellevue1.com/MTI/stat-graphics/ These images were selected as ones especially useful in statistics and probability. You can use these for instructional presentations and webpage development. Related Website: 2) Probability/Statistics Object Library http://www.math.uah.edu/psol/   Running to Conclusions (Grades 10-12) by E. Malczewski http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/malcz/ExpFit/INTRO.html This online lesson activity focuses on exponential fit using statistical methods of analysis.   Laws of Probability: Mutually ExclusivevsMutually Inclusive Draws or Playing the Odd’s (Grades 8-16) by M.A. Siddiq http://www.iit.edu/~smile/phma1900.htm This lesson is designed to show students how to cut down the odds or reduce the probabilities of losing by using fractions and decimals. Other Probability Lessons: 2) Phenomenological Probability (Grades 6-8) by R. Foote http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9507.html 3) Probability (Grades 6-8) by A. Timbers http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9711.html 4) Probability (Grades 5-8) by S. Reed http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9613.html 5) Probability by E. Turner http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma8919.html 6) Probability by L. Willis Moss http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma8713.html 7) Probability of Childhood Games (Grades 6-8) by R. Foote http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma96m3.html   Linear Regression: Statistical Analysis (Grades 10-12) by A. McCall and I. Mohamed http://www.mste.uiuc.edu/regression/titlepage.html This lesson asks learners to analyze paired data by first finding means, variances, standard deviations,and covariance. Then they use these statistical measures to find the best fitting line for the set of data and the correlation coefficient of the two variables. This lesson plan includes two data sets: cigarette and species data.   Mean, Median, Mode, Etc. (Grades 4-12) by C. Goldwater http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9406.html The main objective of this mini-teach is to have students generate their own data and then analyze their information. Some of the ideas that could taught are mean, mode, and median, histogram, bar and circle graph, and probability. Related Lesson Plans: 2) Averaging by S. Thomas (Grade 6) http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9017.html 3) Paper Toss Shootout (Grade 8) by E.R. Justice http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9308.html 4) Statistics of Mars by W.L. Lilly http://www.iit.edu/~smile/ma9311.html   Probability from Math Goodies http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/toc_vol6.shtm Here are a series of lessons and activities for the study of probability.   statistics charts & graphs raw data chance sequence statistician random event improve the odds histogram uncertainty lessen the odds frequency average mean medium mode probability theory distribution range score middle point number lottery calculator Bernoulli trial sampling certainty polls & surveys binomial distribution population actuary variance standard deviation data analysis prediction central tendency gambling significance regression estimate non parametric parametric descriptive statistics value normal distribution correlation measure probability        Created by Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, 3/02.