The Range of a Set of Data

Problem: Cheryl took 7 math tests in one marking period. What is the range of her test scores? 89, 73, 84, 91, 87, 77, 94 Solution: Ordering the test scores from least to greatest, we get: 73, 77, 84, 87, 89, 91, 94 highest - lowest = 94 - 73 = 21 Answer: The range of these test scores is 21 points.

Definition: The range of a set of data is the difference between the highest and lowest values in the set. In the problem above, the set of data consists of 7 test scores. We ordered the data from least to greatest before finding the range. We recommend that you do this, too. This is especially important with large sets of data.

Arithmetic Mean

Problem:

Scott took 7 math tests in one marking period. What is the mean test score? 89, 73, 84, 91, 87, 77, 94 The sum of these numbers is 595. Dividing the sum by the number of test scores we get:

Solution:

Answer: Definition:

The mean test score is 85. The arithmetic mean of a set of data is found by taking the sum of the data, and then dividing the sum by the total number of values in the set. A mean is commonly referred to as an average

Non-Routine Mean

Problem: Solution:

The mean of 29 test scores is 77.8. What is the sum of these test scores? To find the mean of n numbers, we divide the sum of the n numbers by n.

If we let n = 29, we can work backwards to find the sum of these test scores.

Multiplying the mean by the 29 we get: 77.8 x 29 = 2,256.2 Answer: The sum of these test scores is 2,256.2

In the problem above, we found the sum given the mean and the number of items in the data set (n). It is also possible to find the number of items in the data set (n) given the mean and the sum of the data.

The Median of a Set of Data

Problem: The Doran family has 5 children, aged 9, 12, 7, 16 and 13. What is the age of the middle child? Ordering the childrens' ages from least to greatest, we get: 7, 9, 12, 13, 16 Answer: The age of the middle child is the middlemost number in the data set, which is 12.

Solution:

In the problem above, we found the median of a set of 5 numbers. Definition: The median of a set of data is the middlemost number in the set. The median is also the number that is halfway into the set. To find the median, the data should first be arranged in order from least to greatest.

To remember the definition of a median, just think of the median of a road, which is the middlemost part of the road. In the problem above, 12 is the median: it is the number that is halfway into the set. There are two children older than 12 and two children younger than 12.

The Mode of a Set of Data

Problem: The number of points scored in a series of football games is listed below. Which score occurred most often? 7, 13, 18, 24, 9, 3, 18 Solution: Ordering the scores from least to greatest, we get: 3, 7, 9, 13, 18, 18, 24 Answer: The score which occurs most often is 18.

This problem really asked us to find the mode of a set of 7 numbers. Definition: The mode of a set of data is the value in the set that occurs most often.

Probability Of An Event
P(A) = The Number Of Ways Event A Can Occur The total number Of Possible Outcomes

The probability of event A is the number of ways event A can occur divided by the total number of possible outcomes. Let's take a look at a slight modification of the problem from the top of the page.

Experiment 1:

A spinner has 4 equal sectors colored yellow, blue, green and red. After spinning the spinner, what is the probability of landing on each color? The possible outcomes of this experiment are yellow, blue, green, and red.

Outcomes:

Probabilities:

P(yellow) =

# of ways to land on yellow 1 = total # of colors 4 # of ways to land on blue 1 = total # of colors 4 # of ways to land on green 1 = total # of colors 4 # of ways to land on red 1 = total # of colors 4

P(blue)

P(green) =

P(red)