Education Technology

Looking Normal

Subject Area
Math: Statistics: Normal Distributions
Level
9-12
Activity Time
45 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
TI-Nspire Version
3.0
Resource Types
Lessons
Format
TNS

Looking Normal

Activity Overview

This lesson involves examining multiple samples taken from a single approximately normal population.

Objectives

  • Students will recognize that the shape of the distribution for a single sample varies from sample to sample, even when all the samples come from the same population.
  • Students will recognize that the variability in shape from sample to sample decreases as sample size increases.
  • Students will recognize that larger samples from an approximately normal population will more often "look" normal than will smaller samples from the same population.

Vocabulary

  • dot plot
  • histogram
  • normal distribution
  • normal probability plot (NPP)
  • population
  • sample

About the Lesson

This lesson involves examining multiple samples taken from a single approximately normal population.
As a result, students will:

  • Compare dot plots, histograms, and normal probability plots to determine which representation best provides information about the normality of a distribution.
  • Select multiple samples of the same size to discover that not all samples from a normal population actually look normal.
  • Change sample size to compare the shapes of larger samples to those of smaller samples.

Subject Area
Math: Statistics: Normal Distributions
Level
9-12
Activity Time
45 Minutes
TI Calculator
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
TI-Nspire Version
3.0
Resource Types
Lessons
Format
TNS
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