MAFS.912.S-IC.2.4Archived Standard

Students explore the world of population biology using the sea otter as a case study. The lesson involves reading technical reports from the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as reading information about the sea otter from non-governmental organizations. Students are introduced to a specialized wildlife capture technique and monitoring of the endangered population through annual census data. Using that data students explore the limiting factors affecting sea otter growth and apply mathematical knowledge to analyze population growth curves. Students also produce an argument on whether the sea otter has met criteria and should be removed from the endangered species list.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore data collection using the temperature probe sensor and perform statistical analysis of the data. Students will use a scientific method of inquiry to plan an investigation to determine which coffee mug is the best. This activity is meant to allow students to use a variety of skills they have acquired throughout a statistics unit in a problem based STEM challenge. Due to the multiple skills there are many standards that are covered.

There are two options for this lab. The first student handout is for students at an average high school statistics level (Algebra 1) and will allow for standard deviation and graphical analyses of the data. The second option is for advanced students that have been exposed to hypothesis testing of claims (Algebra 2 or AP Stats).

Type: Lesson Plan

How many boxes of cereal would you have to purchase to win all six prizes?

This lesson uses class data collected through simulations to allow students to answer this question. Students simulate purchasing cereal boxes and create a t-confidence interval with their data to determine how many boxes they can expect to buy.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is designed for students who enrolled in an elementary statistics or math for college readiness class who are at the stage of collecting and analyzing data. In their algebra 1 class, they were introduced to statistical topics such as line of best-fit and equation of a line as they relate to real-world meaning.

Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

Type: Lesson Plan

Fish Ecologist, Dean Grubbs, discusses how using statistical sampling can help determine legal catch rates for fish that may be endangered.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Entrepreneur and meteorologist Mark Powell discusses the need for statistics in his mathematical modeling program to help better understand hurricanes.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Florida State University Counseling Psychologist discusses how he uses confidence intervals to make inferences on college students' experiences on campus based on a sample of students.

Type: Perspectives Video: Expert

Hydrogeologist from Nestle Waters discusses the importance of statistical tests in monitoring sustainability and in maintaining consistent water quality in bottled water.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

NOAA Scientist Doug Devries discusses the differences between fishery independent surveys and fishery independent surveys.  Discussion includes trap sampling as well as camera sampling. Using graphs to show changes in population of red snapper.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Deep sea shark researcher, Chip Cotton, discusses the need for a Power Analysis to determine the critical sample size in order to make inferences on how oil spills affect shark populations.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Underwater sampling with cameras has made fishery management more accurate for NOAA scientists.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Will Ryan describes methods for collecting multiple random samples of anemones in coastal marine environments.

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Safe water? Safe soil? How can we calibrate our equipment to detect small levels of pollutants and ignore other substances in the sample?

Type: Perspectives Video: Professional/Enthusiast

Patrick Milligan shares a teaching idea for collecting insect samples.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

Dr. David McNutt explains how a simple do-it-yourself quadrat and a transect can be used for ecological sampling to estimate population density in a given area.

Download the CPALMS Perspectives video student note taking guide.

Type: Perspectives Video: Teaching Idea

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article describes the important process used when setting up trials for statistical investigation. The article explains each parameter that is needed to calculate the sample size, then provides examples and illustrates the process. This article will enhance an upper level math course's study of statistics after significance levels and basic inferential statistics concepts have been taught.

Type: Text Resource

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. Pew Research Center surveyed scientists and the general public on 12 science oriented issues, including genetically modified foods, vaccines, nuclear power and evolution. Results of the survey showed large discrepancies between the thoughts, causes and recommendations on the issues of the scientists and the general public. Sample sizes and margins of errors are given on the survey results which are represented in percent form. The overall survey showed that the public and the scientists see the world very differently.

Type: Text Resource

This learning video addresses a particular problem of selection bias, a statistical bias in which there is an error in choosing the individuals or groups to make broader inferences. Rather than delve into this broad topic via formal statistics, we investigate how it may appear in our everyday lives, sometimes distorting our perceptions of people, places and events, unless we are careful. When people are picked at random from two groups of different sizes, most of those selected usually come from the bigger group. That means we will hear more about the experience of the bigger group than that of the smaller one. This isn't always a bad thing, but it isn't always a good thing either. Because big groups "speak louder," we have to be careful when we write mathematical formulas about what happened in the two groups. We think about this issue in this video, with examples that involve theaters, buses, and lemons. The prerequisite for this video lesson is a familiarity with algebra. It will take about one hour to complete, and the only materials needed are a blackboard and chalk. The downloadable Teacher's Guide found on the same page as the video, provides suggestions for classroom activities during each of the breaks between video segments.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation