The Urban Dictionary defines AP Statistics as:
A division of math that requires much writing and analytical thought. Taken by AP nerds, those hell bent on going to the 'best' colleges, or by those with a masochistic streak. Can be taken in place of Calculus, or, for those who really enjoy self-punishment, concurrently. Mostly taken by seniors.
"I'm taking AP Statistics this year because I don't feel like taking AP Calc, but my year wouldn't be hellish enough without it."
Welcome to AP Statistics! This course will be unlike any other math class you have ever taken! To get the most out of this course you need to be competent in basic algebra, be familiar with basic statistical measures, understand how to use a TI-Nspire calculator, and, most importantly, be willing to explain your answers, not just simply get the correct answer.
Although this is a math course, AP Statistics concentrates much more heavily on thinking, reasoning, writing, and communicating than it does on number-crunching. Graphing calculators and computer software programs will do most of the tedious “busy work” for you.
This course is focused on four interrelated areas of concentration;
· Exploring Data. What patterns in a set of data do you see? What do these tell us about the data? What can we learn from them?
· Sampling and Experimenting. What plan would you implement to conduct a study? Can you effectively write a proposal for simulating a real-world situation?
· Anticipating Patterns. What can you surmise about random phenomena by using probability? How can you extrapolate your model into the future? What might you hope to have happen?
· Statistical Inference. How can you apply given parameters to your test hypothesis to see if it is valid?
This summer assignment is meant to introduce you to the wide world (cliché #1) of statistics, to have you "hit the ground running" (cliché #2) and allow us to move at a "fast and furious” (cliché #3) pace throughout the year.
Since you will obviously have many other things to do this summer, pace yourself! 60-90 minutes per week, on average, or 8-10 hours on the night before school starts, should enable you to do all of the required work.
Please feel free to call, text, or email me over the summer if you have questions or run into difficulties with completing the work.
All of the summer assignment requirements are due by the 3rd class session of the year with the exception of F—Become an Expert on Sampling & Surveys. This must be done by the first day of class.
The work must be done entirely by you. You can text or email me at any time for assistance but the work must be your own.
A. Buy/Rent/Borrow a TI-Nspire Calculator
It is strongly recommended (almost mandatory) that you buy a TI-Nspire™ calculator if you do not already have one. All of the examples and problems we will work on will be based on this calculator. If you cannot afford a TI-Nspire or do not think it worth the money, buy one anyway and I will buy it back from you at the end of the year. You will be using your calculator almost every class period and familiarity with it is easily worth 0.5-1.0 points on the AP Exam.
While we do have a few older model class calculators, using them is like wearing someone else’s football cleats or using someone’s baseball glove. Make a commitment to succeed in the course by having your very own calculator.
B. Visit My AP Statistics Web Site
Become familiar with the AP Stats resources on my VHS Web page—www.veronaschools.org/cashill. The page will be updated regularly during the summer and the school year. Copies of this assignment as well as links to the web sites mentioned here are on the site. There is also a link to our AP Statistics eBook—The Practice of Statistics, 4th Edition (TPS4E).
C. Experiment with StatCrunch. StatCrunch is a powerful web-based statistical software that allows users to perform complex analyses, share data sets, and generate compelling reports. A full range of numerical and graphical methods allow users to analyze any data set.
Find a data set of 30-50+ individuals (The objects described by a data set—not necessarily people) that you are interested in. Examples include:
· The salaries of the New York Giants (http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/team/new-york-giants/salary/67056?q=new-york-giants)
· The top movie grosses of all times (http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/)
· The most expensive celebrity weddings (http://radaronline.com/photos/extravagant-celebrity-weddings-photos-gallery/photo/555919/)
· State populations
· World health statistics
· Etc., etc., etc.
www.gapminder.org and www.data.gov/ are great data sites and StatCrunch has a ton of data sets as well.
Assignment. Log into StatCrunch at www.statcrunch.com. I have set up a distinct sign-in that you can use to explore StatCrunch with your data set.
ID: verona2016
Password: hillbilly2016
Cut and paste or type in your data set and experiment with the site. Try as many different applications and analyses as possible. Remember to save your work with a distinct name. (Use your initials because many students will be using the same ID.) Your goal is to be very, very comfortable with StatCrunch when school starts.
If you need help visit these videos on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=BE055F65E43B4973
Deliverables. At a minimum, you should create and save the following for your data set:
Summary Statistics: Mean, Median, Minimum Maximum, Q1, Q3, Inter-Quartile Range, Standard Deviation and Range.
Graphs: Histogram, Stemplot, Boxplot and Dotplot.
D. Watch (and Take Notes on) The Joy of Stats
The Joy of Stats is a 59 minute long documentary which takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride through the wonderful world of statistics to explore the remarkable power they have to change our understanding of the world. It is presented by superstar boffin (British slang for a particularly clever person even though he is not British) Professor Hans Rosling, whose eye-opening, mind-expanding and funny online lectures have made him an international internet legend.
Rosling's presentations are grounded in solid statistics illustrated by the visualization software he developed. The animations transform development statistics into moving bubbles and flowing curves that make global trends clear, intuitive and even playful. During his legendary presentations, Rosling takes this one step farther, narrating the animations with a sportscaster's flair.
You can view the video at http://www.gapminder.org/videos/the-joy-of-stats/.
Please complete Attachment A as you watch the video.
E. Create a Real World Statistics Portfolio
The beauty of statistics is that it is all around us. We see examples of good and bad stats (See graph at the right) every single day in newspapers and magazines, on newscasts and sporting events and on a host of web sites--especially those dealing with politics, the economy and the government.
To really see how statistics impacts our lives, a major part of your summer assignment is to develop a Real World Statistics Portfolio.
Begin to collect newspaper, magazine, video or internet articles/stories/advertisements that include statistical concepts--both good and bad. These may include things like graphs, charts or tables. They may also report conclusions made as a result of looking at data—e.g., newspaper/internet reports on drug/social/psychology studies.
For each article/web page/etc., highlight the statistics mentioned and answer the following questions:
a. What is the source of the data? When and where was it published?
b. What was the purpose of the article/statistic/data? Why was it written/produced?
b. Were any conclusions stated? If so, what were they?
c. Is the article/statistics/data convincing? Do you believe the stated results? Explain.
You must have at least 6 articles by September from at least 3 different sources. Each article must be current—that is, it must have appeared in the news from 6/1/15-9/1/15.
Good resources for statistics articles/charts include:
· The Newark Star-Ledger
· The New York Times
· The Washington Post
· Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/)
· Significance Magazine (http://www.significancemagazine.org/view/index.html)
· The Wall Street Journal’s Numbers Guy (http://blogs.wsj.com/numbersguy/)
· BBC News Interactives and Graphics (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/11628973)
· Nate Silver’s 538 blog (http://fivethirtyeight.com/)
· The Onion (http://www.theonion.com/)
· Freakonomics (http://www.freakonomics.com/)
Attachment B is a sample of an article and the format that the articles must be submitted in. Each article must be printed out and taped/pasted on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with the required info on the back.
F. Become an Expert on Sampling & Surveys
We will start the course in Chapter 4—Designing Studies. We need to know how to collect representative data before we can begin to do any statistical analysis. There are three Learning Targets (LTs) in this chapter—LT 4.1: Sampling and Surveys, LT 4.2: Experiments and LT 4.3: Using Studies Wisely.
We will be designing and conducting a sampling survey the first class day in September, so please be prepared.
To gain credit for this part of the summer assignment, follow the following steps:
1. Log onto http://www.learner.org/resources/series65.html?pop=yes&pid=3135#. This is called Against All Odds—Inside Statistics.
2. Scroll down to Unit 16: Census and Sampling and Unit 17: Sample & Surveys.
3. For both units watch the video and download, read/highlight and complete the student guides. (The student guides will also be available in MS Word form on my web site.
4. Turn in the completed student guides on the first day of class.
Each of the student guides includes the following sections:
· Summary of Video / · The Video* (Questions from the video)· Student Learning Objectives / · Unit Activity*
· Content Overview / · Exercises*
· Key Terms / · Review Questions*
The four asterisked (*) sections, require answers from you. If you download the PDF files, please do not try to write your answers between the questions—there is not enough room between them. Either write it neatly on a separate sheet of paper or type it up using my web site copies. Your responses will make great notes later on.
You will be graded on the completeness of the assignment more than on how correct the answers are. In fact, you are free to download the Faculty Guide to check your answers after you have tried the problems on your own.
Please note that you are doing this assignment on the VHS Cashill AP Statistics Honor System (see section G following). Do not be lazy and copy the correct answers—it will do you no good.
For additional help on sampling, surveys and experiments, go to Stat Trek, a great statistics web site at http://stattrek.com/statistics/data-collection-methods.aspx?Tutorial=AP.
There are two sections on Surveys and Experiments with good notes and great videos.
G. Understand Academic Integrity
Academic integrity essentially means "intellectual honesty": honesty in the use of information, in formulating arguments, and in other activities related to the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. It is a core principle that underpins how we live and learn in a community of inquiry. As members of an academic community, we are entitled to a wide degree of freedom in the pursuit of scholarly interests. With that freedom, however, comes the responsibility to uphold the high ethical standards of academic conduct.
If I were to ask each of the AP Stats students their definition of “Academic Integrity”, I would probably get different answers from everyone in the class.
A lot of the work you will be doing in AP Stats involves partners or small groups. In addition, many of the tests are open-book, take-home tests. Because of the nature of the course it is imperative that each and every one of us has the exact same understanding of what constitutes “Academic Integrity.”
Every assignment that you do for credit in AP Statistics will require you to sign an honor pledge—“On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment.” No signature, no grade.
The goal of this summer assignment is to get you to better understand Academic Integrity and Honor in a high school setting.
Assignment
1. Go to the web page for the college you hope to/expect to go to and print out their Academic Integrity/Honor System/Honor Code. Read it, highlight it and be prepared to discuss the following:
· Who runs the honor system?
· What constitutes breeches of the college’s honor system?
· What penalties are there?
· Your comments on whether you agree or disagree with the college’s statements.
2. Watch a short video (15 minutes long) entitled “Washington and Lee Honor System: An Orientation. You can find this video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk1PAoIAQYI
Washington & Lee is my alma mater and our AP Stats Honor System is based on their system.
G. Beach Reading/Listening/Watching
If you have the time and want to delve a little further into the world of statistics, try out one or more of the following resources. These are not required at all.
Books
· Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Levitt and Dubner
· The Drunkard’s Walk, How Randomness Rules Our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow
· Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely
· Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists, J. Best, University of California Press, 2001.
· A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, J. A. Paulos, Basic Books, 1995.
· 200% of Nothing, A. K. Dewdney, John Wiley and Sons, 1993.
· Bringing Down the House: How Six Students Took Vegas for Millons, B. Mezrich, Free Press, 2002
· Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, M. Lewis, Norton, 2003
· Tainted Truth: The Manipulation of Fact In America, C. Crossen
· The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic—and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, S. Johnson
· The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, M. Gladwell, Little, Brown & Co., 2002