Name: _________________
Algebra lesson
AP Statistics Handout: 1.4 1.4
Lesson
Topics: measures of center, measures of spread, using technology to find summary stats
Lesson 1.4 Guided Notes
The table below shows the salaries of 12 employees at a company.
Measures of Center
Salaries
1) Write the formula for the mean (in words and symbols). Then, find the mean salary (thousands of $)
(show your work). 39
34
34
35
34
32
43
34
2) Find the median salary (show your work). For convenience, the salaries (in thousands of 185
$) are shown in order below: 35
29
29, 32, 34, 34, 34, 34, 35, 35, 39, 43, 67, 185
67
Question to ponder (you’ll answer it later in the lesson): The boss is trying to hire you to work at this
company. She says, “Our typical salary is $50,100.” Is this misleading? Why or why not?
Approximating a median in a histogram: The graph below describes 55 ACT scores.
3) Approximate the median ACT score. Show
your work.
Material adapted from the Skew The Script curriculum (skewthescript.org)
2
Measures of Spread
4) Write the formula for the range. Then, find the range of the salaries (show your work).
The standard deviation measures how far a data value is (on the average) from2
' the mean. for
Use
∑(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥̅ )
5) The formula theDesmos to calculate
standard deviation (𝑠𝑥 ) is the standard
displayed deviation
to the right: 𝑠𝑥 for
= the
√ salaries.
You will need to enter the salaries in a list A and then type stdev(A) 𝑛 − 1
Let’s break down the formula piece-by-piece:
a) Why do you think we find the differences between each data point and the mean (𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥̅ )? Hint:
the standard deviation is a measure of spread.
b) Why do you think we square the differences (𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥̅ )2 before we sum them?
c) We find the sum (∑ ) and divide by n – 1. This is similar to what we did before for another
statistic. Which statistic was that? Why do you think we are doing the (almost) same thing here?
d) At the end, we take the square root (√ ). Why do you think we do this?
6) Write down and interpret the standard deviation of the salaries.
7) Write down the formula for the interquartile range (IQR). Then, find the IQR (show your work). For
convenience, the salaries (in thousands of $) are shown in order below:
29, 32, 34, 34, 34, 34, 35, 35, 39, 43, 67, 185
Question to ponder (you’ll answer it later in the lesson): Which measure of spread (range, standard
dev., or IQR) best represents the “typical” distance between salaries? Why?
Material adapted from the Skew The Script curriculum (skewthescript.org)
3
Technology: Summary Statistics
1. Put data into List 1 2. Find 1-Var Stats 3. Select Data List
(STAT → EDIT) (STAT → CALC → 2) (→ Calculate)
4. Scroll through
the summary stats
(use Sx for stdev.)
Lesson 1.4 Discussion
1. The boss is trying to hire you to work at this company. She says, Salaries
“Our typical salary is $50,100.” Is this misleading? Why or why not? (thousands of $)
39
Measures of Center 34
Mean: 50.1 ($50,100) 34
Median: 34.5 ($34,500) 35
34
32
43
34
185
35
2. Which measure of spread (range, standard dev., or IQR) best 29
represents the “typical” distance between salaries? Why? 67
Measures of Spread
Range: $156,000
𝑆𝑥 : $43,610
IQR: $7,000
Material adapted from the Skew The Script curriculum (skewthescript.org)
4
“Resistance is futile”
The median is ________________ (not seriously affected by) skew and outliers. The mean
_______________________ to skew and outliers. The mean follows skew/outliers.
The interquartile range (IQR) is resistant to skew and outliers. The range and ______________________
are not resistant to skew and outliers.
Why are the median and IQR resistant to outliers? Let’s explore with the salary data:
29, 32, 34, 34, 34, 34, 35, 35, 39, 43, 67, 185
For the mean: The outlier salary – $185,000 – drags up the mean because its high value is given _______
___________ in the calculation
For the median: The ______________ matters more than the __________. Because $185,000 is the
highest data point, it’s crossed off right away. The outlier is _____ given a large weight in the calculation.
For the IQR: Like the median, the position matters more than the value for the IQR.
Applet: Use the (very cool) simulation linked here to explore these properties of the mean and median.
Link: http://digitalfirst.bfwpub.com/stats_applet/stats_applet_6_meanmed.html
Source: Digital First project from Bedford, Freeman, & Worth publishers
Right Skew Symmetric Left Skew
Med. ____ Mean Med. ____ Mean Med. ____ Mean
Material adapted from the Skew The Script curriculum (skewthescript.org)
5
Lesson 1.4 Practice
Teachers: We recommend providing additional practice exercises from your AP Stats textbook or from
prior AP Stats exams. The following textbook sections and AP exam questions are aligned to the content
covered in this lesson.
• The Practice of Statistics (AP Edition), 4th-6th editions: section 1.3
• Stats: Modeling the World (AP Edition), 4th & 5th editions: chapter 3, 3rd edition: chapter 4
• Statistics: Learning from Data (AP Edition), 2nd edition: section 3.1 - 3.3
• Advanced High School Statistics, section 2.2
• AP Exam Free Response Questions (FRQs): 2014 Q4 (part a), 2019 Q6 (part b), 2018 Q5
Material adapted from the Skew The Script curriculum (skewthescript.org)
