1-A AP STATS VOCAB

saanvi j.

Statistics

science and art of collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data

Statistics problem solving process

formulating questions, collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting results

Formulate questions

clarify the research problem and ask one or more valid statistical investigative questions (a valid investigative question is based on data that vary)

Collect data

design and carry out a plan to collect appropriate data

Analyze data

use appropriate graphical and numerical methods to analyze the data

Interpret results

draw conclusions based on the data analysis

Volunteer sample

generalize only to people like those in the study

Random sample

generalize to all individuals in the population

Census

collecting data from every item or individual in the population

Population

is the entire group of items or individuals we want information about (represented by N)

Sample

is a subset of items or individuals in the population for which we collect data (represented with n)

Parameter

a number that describes some characteristic of the POPULATION

A Statistic

a number that describes some characteristic of the SAMPLE

Observational unit

an item or individual described in a data set or statistics study (WHO or WHAT you collect data about)

Variable

a characteristic that can take different values for different observational units (WHAT measuring)

Categorical

takes values that are labels, which place each item or individual into a particular group called a category (name, zip code, birth month)

Quantitative

takes number values that are quantities (counts or measurements, height, weight)

Discrete quantitative variable

can take a set of possible values with graps between them on the number line, so only integer values (# of pets, # of people + COUNT)

Continuous quantitative variable

can take any value in an interval on the number line (height, time to run a mile+ MEASURE)