Jenna Ivins

Skittle Project

Introduction
In phase one of this project, I will be displaying my class total skittle count in a Pie and Pareto
Chart. My professor had each student buy a pack of skittles, tally the number of each color, and
send the data to her. She then complied a class wide total of every skittle color (red, yellow,
green, orange, and purple). I have created a pie and pareto chart to display the class wide totals.
Next, to explain my observations, I computed the mean, standard deviation, and the 5 number
summary. Finally, I have offered an explanation of my finds below.

Organizing and Displaying Colors

My Sample

Number of red Number of Number of Number of green Number of

candies orange candies yellow candies candies purple candies
19 12 15 6 7

Class Total
Number of Red Number of Number of Number of Number of
Candies Orange Candies Yellow Candies Green Candies Purple Candies
642 623 581 622 608

Yes, the graphs do display the information I expected. I believe the pie chart displays the
information better than the pareto chart. The red was obviously most frequent while the yellow
was less frequent. When comparing my sample to the class total, surprisingly, the red candies
appeared most frequent but the green was least popular in my sample.

Organizing the Number of Candies in Each Bag

Mean: 615.2
 Standard Deviation: 20.23
5 Number Summary:
Minimum: 581
Q1: 594.5
Median: 622
Q3: 632.5
Maximum: 642

Skittle Project Totals

My Sample
Number of Red Number of Number of Number of Number of
Candies Orange Candies Yellow Candies Green Candies Purple Candies
19 12 15 6 7

Class Total
Number of Red Number of Number of Number of Number of
Candies Orange Candies Yellow Candies Green Candies Purple Candies
642 623 581 622 608

The graph is skewed left. The graphs do display what I expected because I calculated the
mean, standard deviation, and 5 number summary before creating the graphs. When I calculated
the mean, standard deviation, and 5 number summary for my data the results equaled: Mean:
11.8; S.D.: 5.45; Min: 6; Q1: 6.5; Med: 12; Q3: 17; Max: 19. The Box Plot displays the
information in a more understandable way. My data is similar to the skittle totals because my
data is also skewed to the left.

Reflection
 The difference between categorical and quantitative data is how the numbers are
displayed. Another word for categorical is qualitative. Categorical or qualitative numbers are
sorted into different countable categories, but not measured. Pareto graphs represent categorical
because they set up the percentages side by side which makes the data easier to compare.
Quantitative numbers have a specific order and can be measured. Histograms, pie charts, and/or
box plot graphs are excellent ways to display quantitative data because the data can be sorted in a
specific order and displayed in almost any form.

Confidence Interval
A confidence interval is an estimate. The confidence interval gives us an upper and a lower limit.
These two limits are our range in which we believe our unknown value lies in. Depending on the
degree of our confidence, we can state that with a say, 95% confidence that x lies within the
upper and lower limits.

A 99% Confidence Interval Estimate for True Proportion of Yellow Candies:

x: 15
n: 581
C-Level: 0.99
(0.0887, 0.4277)
(p^)= 0.0258175559
Conclusion I am 99% confident that between 0.0887% and 0.42777% of all yellow
skittles are yellow.

A 95% Confidence Interval Estimate for the True Mean number of Candies per
bag:
x: 60.31372549
Sx: 3.437965655
n: 51
C-Level: (59.347, 61.281)
Conclusion: I am 95% confident that between 59.347% and 61.281% of the mean of
candies per bag is 60.
Hypothesis Test
A hypothesis test is a process which tests the null and alternative hypothesizes so we can
conclude whether or not to reject the null hypothesis.
Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence at the 0.05 significance level to conclude that
the number of red skittles differs from 20% of the total skittle count.
Conclusion: There is sufficient evidence at the 0.01 significance level to conclude that the
mean number per skittle bag is not 55.
Reflection:
There are three conditions, which must be met if you are to use interval estimates and
hypothesis tests. The first condition is, determining whether the sample is random. This
information will be stated in the problem. The second condition is whether or not the sample
is considered a normal sample. This condition can be tested through the formula, nPo (1-Po)
10. The third condition is whether or not the data is independent. Independence is based of
whether or not the sample is larger than the sample. This condition can also be tested through
a formula, n N. My samples met all three of these conditions. Although, errors that could
have occurred would be, bias sampling, miscalculations, or misinterpretation of the data
provided. To prevent bias sampling, the class could have brought our skittle bags to class to
count the colors. From my statistical data, I am able to conclude that the average skittle bag
does contain a mean of 60 skittles per bag. I am also able conclude that I can test my data
through hypothesis and confidence intervals.