Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 72217
Sweet Statistics - A Candy Journey
Students will sort pieces of candy by color then calculate statistical information such as mean, median, mode, interquartile range, and standard
deviation. They will also create an Excel spreadsheet with the candy data to generate pie charts and column charts. Finally, they will compare
experimental data to theoretical data and explain the differences between the two. This is intended to be an exercise for an Algebra 1 class.
Students will need at least 2 class periods to sort their candy, make the statistical calculations, and create the charts in Excel.
Subject(s): Mathematics
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter,
Computers for Students, Internet Connection, Basic
Calculators, Overhead Projector, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 3 Hour(s)
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: statistics, mean, mode, median, standard deviation, interquartile range, outlier, pie graph, column
chart, normal distribution
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Algebra
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: General Lesson Plan
Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Create a data set given specific parameters.
Find the mean of a data set.
Find the median of a data set.
Find the mode of a data set.
Find the interquartile range (IQR) of a data set.
Determine if a data set contains an outlier.
Find the standard deviation of a data set.
Make predictions about future events based on information contained in a given data set.
Create an Excel spreadsheet.
Use Excel formulas to calculate mean, median, mode, and standard deviation.
Insert a column chart (vertical bar graph) into an Excel spreadsheet.
Insert a pie chart into an Excel spreadsheet.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Standards needed to ensure success on this lesson:
MAFS.6.SP.1.1, MAFS.6.SP.1.2, MAFS.6.SP.1.3, MAFS.6.SP.2.5, MAFS.7.SP.1.1, MAFS.7.SP.1.2, MAFS.7.SP.2.4, MAFS.7.SP.3.7,
MAFS.912.S-IC.1.1, MAFS.912.S-IC.2.3, MAFS.912.S-ID.1.3, MAFS.912.S-ID.1.4.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
What is the difference between experimental data and theoretical data?
How can we predict the potential outcome of a large group of data without counting every piece in the set?
page 1 of 3 What does the standard deviation tell us?
How can data be displayed graphically to quickly tell a story?
What does it mean when your outcome does not correlate with the expected outcome?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
The teacher will review with the students how to calculate mean, median, mode, interquartile range, and standard deviation of a given set of data.
The teacher will also need to provide a brief lesson on Excel before the exercise begins. A brief student tutorial for the exercise in Excel is provided for the teacher as
an attached document to cover with the class either before or during guided practice.
The teacher will collect data from the students on their candy color breakdowns. This student data can be entered into Excel and various charts and graphs can be
created in Excel using this data. The teacher will need to guide the students through this process, and determine what kinds of formal outputs are required. An Excel
spreadsheet has also been included that contains examples of the expected output from students.
Candy Excel Tutorial.docx
Candy Results - Theory and Trial.xlsx
Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher guidance?
Teacher will review the student instructions page with the entire class. The student instructions page provides general instructions for the students to follow during
this exercise. The student instructions page has been included with this submission.
Here are the student instructions:
Before you open your bags of candy...
1. Estimate the number of candies in each of your bags of candy.
2. Breakdown of the totals of your plain and peanut candies by color. Each section of your Pie Chart should be the same color as the candies and contain a data label
showing the percentage for each color.
3. Which color do you think will be most represented in each of your bags of candy? Which color will be most represented in total for both bags of candy?
4. Do you think there will be any difference in the color distribution between the plain candies and the peanut candies? Explain.
Now, open your bags of candy and separate the candy by color...
Refer to your excel reference sheet for assistance.
Enter the color breakdown for each of your bags of candy into an Excel spreadsheet. Use Excel to find the mean, mode, median, and standard deviation for each of
your bags of candy by color.
Use Excel to create a Vertical Column Chart for each of your bags of candy by color. Your chart should contain a title, legend, and an appropriate color scheme.
Use Excel to create (3) separate Pie Charts showing the following:
Breakdown of your plain candies by color. Each section of your Pie Chart should be the same color as the candies and contain a data label showing the percentage for
each color.
Breakdown of your peanut candies by color. Each section of your Pie Chart should be the same color as the candies and contain a data label showing the percentage
for each color.
Breakdown of the totals of your plain and peanut candies by color. Each section of your Pie Chart should be the same color as the candies and contain a data label
showing the percentage for each color.
Candy Student Instructions.docx
Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce the concepts and skills developed in the
lesson?
Students will complete the follow-up questions worksheet after completing the exercise. Students have to apply their understanding of the data and statistical
calculations to complete the follow-up questions worksheet. The follow-up questions worksheet has been included with this submission.
Candy Follow-Up Questions.docx
Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the lesson?
Teacher will lead a final classroom discussion about the difference between the actual results obtained versus the expected results. Students should be able to explain
why their actual data may not correlate to the theoretical data. Students should also be able to provide several ways to get the actual outcome to approach the
expected outcome.
Summative Assessment
Students will complete a post-test assessment that gauges the students' understanding of mean, median, mode, interquartile range, outliers, and standard deviation
with an alternate set of data.
Candy Post-Test.docx
Candy Post-Test Key.docx
Formative Assessment
The students will take a pre-test that gauges the students' knowledge of mean, median, mode, interquartile range, outliers, and standard deviation. The pre-test will
provide information on how to proceed with the lesson based on students' responses.
Candy Pre-Test.docx
Candy Pre-Test Key.docx
Feedback to Students
The pre-test will be graded and returned to the students with written feedback as necessary.
page 2 of 3 The teacher will circulate as the students work to gather their data and generate their displays, providing feedback as necessary.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Accommodations:
Students with special needs will be paired with other students and allowed to work in groups on the assignment.
Students with visual impairments will be provided hard copies of teacher notes and various attachments.
Some special needs students may receive assistance with the technology portion of the assignment, including but not limited to: direct help with data input, teacher
aid with chart creation, distribution in advance of expected output, and/or additional time to complete the assignment.
Extensions:
Students could research why the manufacturers of candy choose particular color combinations for their products.
Students could compare the color combinations for one brand of candy versus another brand of candy.
Students could estimate how large of a sample size is required for their actual outcomes to approach expected outcomes.
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Computers for Students, Internet Connection, Basic Calculators, Overhead Projector, Microsoft Office
Special Materials Needed:
Each student will be provided with 1 bag of plain chocolate candies and 1 bag of peanut chocolate candies from the same manufacturer.
Further Recommendations:
This exercise is a good way to get students to understand the collection of data and the calculation of statistical information from that data. It can also serve as an
introduction for students to creating spreadsheets that use formulas in Microsoft Excel.
Also, individual student data can be collected and combined to create a class set of data. The class data should produce results that are closer to the theoretical
results.
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
This lesson aligns with the following Standards for Mathematical Practices:
#4 Model with mathematics
#5 Use appropriate tools strategically
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Sean Crowe
Name of Author/Source: Sean Crowe
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Wakulla
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
MAFS.912.S-ID.1.2:
Description
Use statistics appropriate to the shape of the data distribution to compare center (median, mean) and spread
(interquartile range, standard deviation) of two or more different data sets. ★
Remarks/Examples:
In grades 6 – 8, students describe center and spread in a data distribution. Here they choose a summary statistic
appropriate to the characteristics of the data distribution, such as the shape of the distribution or the existence of
extreme data points.
page 3 of 3