Weather Forecasts

Do you watch the weather forecast sometime during the day? How do you use
that information? Have you ever heard the forecaster talk about weather
models? These computer models are built using statistics that compare prior
weather conditions with current weather to predict future weather.

Emergency Preparedness
What happens if the forecast indicates that a hurricane is imminent or that
tornadoes are likely to occur? Emergency management agency’s move into high
gear to be ready to rescue people. Emergency teams rely on statistics to tell
them when danger may occur.

Predicting Disease
Lots of times on the news reports, statistics about a disease are reported. If the
reporter simply reports the number of people who either have the disease or
who have died from it, it's an interesting fact but it might not mean much to
your life. But when statistics become involved, you have a better idea of how
that disease may affect you.

For example, studies have shown that 85 to 95 percent of lung cancers are
smoking related. The statistic should tell you that almost all lung cancers are
related to smoking and that if you want to have a good chance of avoiding lung
cancer, you shouldn't smoke.

4. Medical Studies
Scientists must show a statistically valid rate of effectiveness before any drug
can be prescribed. Statistics are behind every medical study you hear about.

5. Genetics
Many people are afflicted with diseases that come from their genetic make-up
and these diseases can potentially be passed on to their children. Statistics are
critical in determining the chances of a new baby being affected by the disease.

6. Political Campaigns
Whenever there's an election, the news organizations consult their models when
they try to predict who the winner is. Candidates consult voter polls to
determine where and how they campaign. Statistics play a part in who your
elected government officials will be

7. Insurance
You know that in order to drive your car you are required by law to have car
insurance. If you have a mortgage on your house, you must have it insured as
well. The rate that an insurance company charges you is based upon statistics
from all drivers or homeowners in your area.

8. Consumer Goods
Wal-Mart, a worldwide leading retailer, keeps track of everything they sell and
use statistics to calculate what to ship to each store and when. From analyzing
their vast store of information, for example, Wal-Mart decided that people buy
strawberry Pop Tarts when a hurricane is predicted in Florida! So they ship this
product to Florida stores based upon the weather forecast.

9. Quality Testing
Companies make thousands of products every day and each company must
make sure that a good quality item is sold. But a company can't test each and
every item that they ship to you, the consumer. So the company uses statistics
to test just a few, called a sample, of what they make. If the sample passes
quality tests, then the company assumes that all the items made in the group,
called a batch, are good.

10. Stock Market

Another topic that you hear a lot about in the news is the stock market. Stock
analysts also use statistical computer models to forecast what is happening in
the economy.
 The statistics is the basis for almost all the activities of individuals, group,
society, community and country. For example: - Literacy rate; - Below poverty
line people; - Employment status; - Satisfaction level for any activity; - Exit
polls ; - Average rain fall; - Average temperatures during different seasons; -
Average rainfall for constructing House, building or office etc. - Earth quake
statistics; - All insurance activities are based on statistics; - Risk taking and its
predictions; - Petroleum exploration; - Monsoon activity in the region ; and so
on

To many people, the word statistics largely only applies to a much-loathed subject
studied at school and college. Statistics can be a relatively complex subject to
master, and many students are quite happy to stop studying the subject as soon as
possible. However, statistics are a significant and relevant part of things you might
do every day. So how is statistics used in everyday life?
Insurance
Most people have at least one form of insurance, whether that is life insurance,
medical insurance or household insurance. What you will probably be aware of is
that everybody seems to pay a different amount for an insurance plan. This is
where statistics come in. Businesses use statistical model to calculate the risk of
giving insurance based on an individual application. By taking into account various
factors, insurers will calculate the policy price so that they can charge a
competitive amount while still making a profit.
Stocks and shares
In the financial market, statistics are a key component of how businesses and
traders make money. In a similar way to the way in which insurance policies are
calculated, analysts on the market will look at historical financial performance and
layer this against a number of other economic factors. This can then help them
make the right decisions around buying and selling stocks and shares. In turn, has
an impact on everybody’s lives. The performance of the financial market can
influence the value of a pension, interest rates and other key financial matters.
Medicine and clinical studies
Most people take the availability of drugs and medicines for granted, but statistics
play a big role in determining whether drugs can be made available to consumers
or not. Researchers and scientists must show a statistically valid rate of
effectiveness before a drug can be approved. Statistics in clinical studies identify
the likelihood that certain people may contract a disease. This information can
make a huge difference in deciding where the government invests in medical
science, ultimately affecting everybody’s lives.
Market research
Market research aims to capture how customers feel about products and brands.
Results from these surveys and studies can ultimately help these businesses decide
whether to make changes to products, packaging or advertising campaigns. This
affects most of the products that you buy. Market research may maintain a product
on the shelves, or may be the main reason it disappears. Market research helps
brands decide whether new products are worth launching. Statistics supports all
these decisions (and more).
Household expenditure
Most people budget their household expenditure in one way or another. Whether
this is a notebook, a complex spreadsheet or a basic balance in their head, most
people decide whether they can afford something. This will be a decision based on
how much money they have in the bank, versus what they need to pay for. The
remaining disposable income will then be analyzed to decide whether the person
can or should buy something. If you have ever decided that you can or cannot
afford something then you have used statistics to reach that decision!
Statistics have some bearing on almost every aspect of your life. It may not be
apparent, but somewhere, somehow, statistics have probably influenced every
decision you make.

Statistics in the Real World

Statistics is the art of gathering, analyzing and making conclusions from data.
Most of the significant development in the theory of statistics didn't occur until
the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. Francis Galton and
Karl Pearson began the study of making inferences from data with their work
in the late nineteenth century. They advanced statistics by inventing with their
followers standard devieation, correlation, and correlation, and coefficient.

Next came the work of R.A. Fisher in about 1915 he began to develop methods
appropriate for small samples and several other items. The third period of
development began about 1928 with the publication of joint papers of Jerzy
Neyman and Egon Pearson. During this period Statistics began to take on a
more application approach, which was in correlation with quality control. Also
there became an interest in taking surveys.
The fourth period began in 1939 with the work of Abraham Wald. He showed
a new way to look at statistics, he said statistics can be regarded as a game with
the opponent being nature. Most statisticians have began to take this approach.
Computers have made a vast increase in the use of statistics because of the
increase of computing power. They have made large data sets more easily
used.

With the application of statistics in the third period and the use of computors
have made statistics more usable in many jobs today. There are many career
choices available today, most of which require the knowledge of math in some
capacity. Several jobs require a kind of math called statistics. People choosing
careers in journalism and news broadcasting use statistics to make numbers
make more sense for their audience, sometimes they use charts to prove points.

Sports recruiters use statistics to check out potential athletes. Sports teams also
use statistics to prepare for upcoming opponents. They look to see which
players on the opposing teams are doing well at that time. They also use
statistics to decide which players are doing well and they try to predict which
players will bring the best results for the game.

The people who pick out merchandise for retail stores also use statistics. They
look to find out what styles and colors sold the best in previous seasons and
then they decide what to buy. Police officers also use statistics in several ways.
The first way is to find out what intersections have the highest accident rate
and then they are able to watch those intersections and reduce the number of
accidents. They also study the crime rates in different neighborhoods to show
the need for additional police force.

These are just a few examples of how statistics are used on an every day basis.
These jobs also are using math in real world situations and answer the
question, "Why do we have to learn this?"

 Every Day Statistics. Whether we are driving down the street or walking on
the sidewalk. We use statistics to “predict” the behavior of other people and things.
In our cars we expect the person in front of us to keep going – for the most part in
a straight line. At traffic lights we expect the light to stay green (or red) for a
certain amount of time.
 We use standards every day too. We expect that the lid will fit on our coffee
cup. We expect parking spaces to be wide enough to accommodate our vehicles.
Of course, this is not always the case. From a more practical point of view we
expect to be able to go to our local hardware store and buy light bulbs or nuts &
bolts and we expect them to fit together.
 Each of these expectations is enabled by standards. Each of these standards
is a statistic that has a range that falls within something called the Standard
Deviation.

Statistics helps in drawing general conclusions and in making predictions of

how much of a thing will happen in given condition. Statistical techniques
being powerful tools for analyzing numerical data, are used in almost every
branch of learning. In biological and physical science, genetics, agronomy,
anthropometry, astronomy, physics, geology etc are the main areas where
statistical techniques have been developed and are increasingly used. Statistics
is used in summarizing the largest sets of data in a form that is easily
understandable. Statistics is an effective planing in any field of inquiry.

Statistics is used in summarizing the larger sets of data in a form that is easily
understandable. Statistics assists in a effective planning in any field of inquiry.
A modern administration whether in public or private sector, leans on statistical
data to provide a factual basis for decision. A social scientist uses statistical
methods in various areas of socio-economic life of a nation. Statistical
techniques being powerful tools for analyzing numerical data, are used in
almost every branch of learning. With the help of statistics we can draw general
conclusions. A business man, an industrialist and a research worker all employ
statistical methods in their work. Furthermore, in election polling, systems are
also based on statistical methods.