Statistical Graphs: Aids Cases and Deaths by Year and Historical Poverty in the US
as part of its collaboration with the SERC Pedagogic Service.
Summary
This assignment asks students in a Quantitative Literacy foundations course to summarize data by using graphs they create in an Excel spreadsheet. Working in pairs, students are to work on part I of the assignment by completing the following: 1) create an AIDS chart from the given data, 2) determine the mean and median of the data, and 3) summarize the information by identifying statistical trends. Once each pair of students completes part I they have to complete part II by doing the following: 1) create a Poverty by Race Chart from given data, 2) determine statistical trends from the data, 3) find percent increase/decrease the data represents, and 4) determine what type of graph they could use to display percent data and explain their choice.
Learning Goals
- Students will be able to take Excel data and create a line graph with title, axis labels, and legend,
- Use Excel to determine the mean and median of the data and be able to check the mean and median by hand,
- Summarize information by identifying statistical trends, and
- Determine percent of increase and decrease.
Context for Use
Description and Teaching Materials
- Lab #6 (Microsoft Word 86kB May15 08)
- AIDS Excel spreadsheet of raw data (Excel 15kB May15 08)
- Poverty by race Excel spreadsheet of raw data (Excel 21kB May15 08)
- AIDS data and graph (answer) (Excel 20kB May15 08)
- Poverty by race data and graph (answer) (Excel 25kB May15 08)
Teaching Notes and Tips
- Check to be sure students compute the median correctly when completing it by hand.
- Check that hard copies have names, date and lab assignment # on them. (Students submitting via drop box should also check this.)
- Check all work—mathematical and written. Math should be taken seriously as well as the writing of the information being relayed to the reader.
Assessment
Rubric for grading lab:
Graphs (20)- Title (4)
- Labels (4)
- Legend (4)
- Name, Lab, Date (4)
- Appropriate scale (both axes) (4)
- Accurate reading of graph(s) to answer questions (20)
- Computations done correctly for: mean, median, percent increase/decrease (20)
- Answers in desired format (10)
- Answers and conclusions justified (15)
- Valid argument(s) (15)