Ivan Cahue

Math 1040

Introduction:
My name is Ivan and this summer I am taking Math 1040, Introduction to Statistics. We
were told we needed to do a project and have it reflected on my e-portfolio. In the project, we
were given a task to get a single 8 oz. of skittles and see how the candies are distributed by color.
Before I even opened the bag, I thought I would get an equal number of skittles from each color
but I was wrong. I had more purple skittles and the least color that showed up was yellow. This
made me doubt my original guess but I have to conduct a series of confidence intervals along
with several graphs in order to show the results of our class population.

Quantitative data:
Quantitative data are measurable or quantifiable such as weigh, length, etc. Categorical
data are grouped according to some common property and the number of members of the group
are recorded. In this sense, categorical data would make more sense since we have 5 different
skittle color categories and the total amount for that specific color.

Red
14
366

My Results
Class
Results

Orange
10
343

Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Purple

Yellow
7
314

.212
.199
.182
.206
.201

Pareto Chart
380
360

366
355

346

343

340
314

320
300
280

Candies
Red

Green

Orange

Yellow

Purple

Green
12
355

Purple
17
346

Total
60
1724

Pie Chart
Purple
20%

Red
21%

Green
21%

Orange
20%
Yellow
18%

Red

Orange

Green

Purple

Yellow

MIN
53

Q1
58

MED
60

# of
candies
per bag
53-54

Frequenc
y

Midpoints

2/29

53.5

55-56

1/29

55.5

57-58

6/29

57.5

59-60

11/29

59.5

61-62

8/29

615

63-64

1/29

63.5

Q3
61

MAX
64

Histogram
12
11

10

2
1

53.5 55.5 57.5 59.5 61.5 63.5

Confidence Interval Estimates

A Confidence Interval is a range (or an interval) of values used to estimate the true value of a
population parameter. A confidence interval is sometimes abbreviated as CI. The reason for
confidence intervals: Previously the best point estimate of the population was p, but a point
estimate is a single value that gives us no indication of how good that best estimate is.
Statisticians have cleverly developed the confidence interval or interval estimate, which consists

of a range or interval of values instead of just a single value. A confidence interval gives us a
much better sense of how good an estimate is.

Construct a 99% confidence interval estimate for the true proportion of yellow candies.

I am 99% confident that the true proportion of yellow candies is contained between 0.518 and
0.206. If 100 samples were taken, 99 of them will be within the confidence level and the
remaining sample will be outside.
Construct a 95% confidence interval estimate for the true mean number per bag.

I am 95% confident that the true number of candies per bag is contained within 585 and 60.3. If
100 samples were taken, 95 of them will be within the confidence level and the remaining 5
samples will be outside.

Construct a 98% confidence interval estimate for standard deviation of the number of candies per
bag.

I am 98% confident that the estimate for the standard deviation of the number of candies per bag
is contained within 1.812 and 3.420

Hypothesis Tests
In statistics a hypothesis is a claim or statement about a property of a population. A
hypothesis test is a procedure for testing a claim about a property of a population. When using a
hypothesis test we should be able to do the following: Identify the null hypothesis and alternative
hypothesis from a given claim and express both in symbolic form. Calculate the value of the test
statistic, given a claim and sample data. Choose the sampling distribution that is relevant. Either

find the P-value or identify the critical value. State the conclusion about a claim in simple and
nontechnical terms.

Use a .05 significance level to test the claim that 20% of all candies are red.

There isnt enough evidence to reject the claim that the proportion of red candies is 20%.

Use a .01 significance level to test the claim that the mean number of candies in a bag of skittles
is 55

There is strong evidence to reject the claim that the mean of candies in a bag is 55

Reflection
I have learned many new concepts in statistics from this class. It has included how to
make proper graphs and determining if stated statistics are a false representation of the true
statistical number, such as a product works 1000% better, this is not a true statement.

This class will help me in other classes that I may take in my future because I have a
better understanding of statistics which are quite commonly used in almost all areas of study. By
gaining even a basic understanding of statistics I will have an easier time comprehending
statistics that are included in my other studies.
Some of the specific processes throughout this assignment that I will use in other classes
are the graphs that I now know how to correctly make; these graphs can be used in sociology
where you use statistics in many ways to learn about the different populations.
This project has been very challenging throughout this term; at times it became confusing
and frustrating to understand what was needed. I struggled with some of the concepts throughout
the last half of this class which I needed to fully understand to complete parts of this project. I
have learned to continue to move on throughout the course and continue to learn the remaining
concepts, with this it sometimes helped me to better understand past concepts that I struggled
with.
This project has changed some of the ways that I think about real world math applications
by having a better understanding of correct graphs and proper calculations for populations and
sample populations.