Math 1040 Skittles Project

Total Mean=59.3 Standard Deviation=8.5 Min=27 Max=73 Q1=59 Q3=62

Totals from my bag: Red=14 Orange=14 Yellow=13 Green=10 Purple=10
Total Bags=20
Total candies: Red=233 Orange=225 Yellow=234 Green=236 Purple=258 Total=1186

The frequency appears to be a normal bell curve that is skewed to the left some, the data is close
enough to not make a huge difference but it does have some pull. Categorical data: Or
qualitative or attribute data; consist of names or labels that are not numbers representing counts
or measurements.
Pie charts and Pareto/Bar graphs are used with data that is in categories i.e.: Categorical
data. Quantitative data: or numerical data; consists of numbers representing counts or
measurements.
Histograms, Box Plots and Scatter Plots use numerical data i.e.: Quantitative data. Using a chart
with the wrong kind of data will make the results meaningless and confusing. Confidence
intervals help us estimate the true value of a population parameter. It is a range or interval.

We use Confidence intervals associated with a certain level (confidence level) for a
percentage. It gives us a much better sense of how good an estimate is. We usually use 90%, 95%
depending on the success rate of the procedure used to construct the confidence interval for
the hypothesis.
Confidence intervals are decided prior to the testing.
For proportion of yellow candies we are 99% sure that our true proportion of yellow candies
falls in the range of (0.029, 0.429).
For the mean number of candies in a bag we are 95% sure that the true mean of candies in a bag
falls between (55.32, 63.28).
For the standard deviation of the number of candies in a bag, we are 98% sure that the true
standard deviation is between (6.159, 13.411)
Hypothesis testing in statistics is a procedure of testing a claim or statement about a property of
a population. Its a counter claim to evaluate a hypothesis.
When conducting the hypothesis test for the claim that 20% of the candies are red, we have an
actual proportion of 20%. This gives us a test statistic of zero, we fail to reject the claim of the
Ho: because they are exactly 20%.
For the claim that the mean number of skittles is 55 a bag, we would reject this hypothesis.
The test statistic is 8.5 standard deviation away from the actual mean. This is very unrealistic.
For proportion tests, we need to have successes and fails more than 5. We definitely have more
than this with our data of 1186 total candies.
With hypothesis testing we need sample size of 25 or needs to be from a normal distribution.
Our histogram was normal so we met this requirement. Students could have just given any
number and not really counted the number of skittles there really had. There could be color
blind students that could not really tell what color there is in the bag. We could have messed up
the N for the equations (like Im sure I did) and gotten our numbers way off. Improvements
could be made if we had a larger sample size, or having one person doing it.
My conclusion is that it is useful; it shows that things are just better than 50/50, you can
disprove or prove someones statement.
Reflection:

My struggle with math has followed me for many years; but with the last few math classes that I
have had to take for my future career they have shown me that the ideas we learn in class can
and will be used in a certain profession on a daily basis.
Even though they might not pertain to me directly for my career, they might be everything the
person sitting next to me needs; since the college is offering the same class for so many different
professions. I have come to the realization that I need to learn it to further my education in the
math field to help me better understand other concepts that may and will apply to me later for
my career choice. Even if I might not use these certain skills someone else will. This class
however has taught me that if I wanted to test a hypothesis of the probability of something
happening I would be able to; if I understood the rules a little better.
I understand the concept of how it works but there were a lot of rules and formulas that I
would be able to have in front of me in the real world, but instead on a test I didnt and I was
unable to come up with the conclusions myself. So instead of guessing that everything has a
50/50 chance of happening, which is just what I had always thought, I would be able to see
what the real probability is.
I also know now that nothing is really random in the world anymore and I think about this quite
often. I hear that someone did a random sample, or that something was randomly selected and I
cant help but wonder what kind of random (test) they chose to make their decision and how
they decided to go with that one specifically; or was it really randomly selected.
I have such a strong love/hate relationship with math because there is one universal right way
to do math, but I always seem to come up with my own way and add more steps than there
really is. I felt that this class made me think in a different way; almost helping with my critical
thinking skills; of which formula to use, when in previous classes there was only one and
I knew which one to use. This class has been a struggle and there have been many nights of me
drinking a lot of wine and eating ice cream in hopes that the next day when I studied that I
would understand it. I hope that one day it does all click in my head and I will just laugh at
these long nights spent trying to figure this out.