Parker Reber

Math 1040
Introduction:
In this assignment I am analyzing data and drawing conclusions using confidence intervals and
hypothesis tests. I opened a bag of skittles and counted how many of each color there were. I
am going to compare this with other classmates bags of skittles.
I will also compare the class numbers with the population of the world. I will use confidence
intervals to show an interval of approximately where a number will most likely be. Hypothesis
tests are done to see if a hypothesis should be rejected or not. These things are all used every
day throughout the world and can apply to us daily.
Organizing and Displaying Categorical Data: Colors

Results from my bag

Red

Orange

Yellow

12

Green

16

Purple

15

Class Totals
Red

166

Orange

183

Yellow

208

Green

187

Purple

203

The graphs show what I expected to see. All of the colors are close to the same amount. This is
because the probability of each of these colors occurring is the same. The class totals are pretty
similar to my bags results. In my bag, the number of each color varies a little more than the
class totals. This is because my bag was a small population.

Organizing and Displaying Quantitative Data: the Number of Candies per Bag
Mean: 189.4
Standard Deviation: 16.77
5 number-summary:
Min: 166
Q1:183
Med: 187
Q3: 203
Max: 208

Results from my bag

Red

Orange

Yellow

12

Green

16

Purple

15

Class Totals
Red

166

Orange

183

Yellow

208

Green

187

Purple

203

The shape of the graphs show that the data is all in a condensed area. They reflect what I
expected to see. In the histogram we see that each color is within the range of 160-210. In the
box plot we can quickly point out the five number-summary. The class totals agree with my bag
for the most part. My bags colors were more uneven due to the small population.

Reflection:
Quantitative data deals with numbers and is measurable. Categorical data is things grouped
according to common properties and the number of members in the group are recorded. Pie
charts and pareto charts make sense for categorical data because there are groups shown with
the number of things in each group on the graph. Histograms and boxplots make sense for
quantitative because they show numbers and arent put into categories. Calculations for
categorical data includes finding frequency and percentages of each category. Calculations for
quantitative include finding the mean, standard deviation, min, q1, med, q3, max, and the
frequency in between two certain numbers.

PART THREE:
Confidence Interval Estimates:
A confidence interval is a range of values used to estimate the true value of a population
parameter.

95% confidence interval estimate for the true proportion of purple candies:
1-PropZInt(x: 203, n: 947, C-Level: .95) = (.1882, .2405) ; p(hat)= .2144

99% confidence interval estimate for the true mean number of candies per bag:
Stat, Edit, L1 plug in total number of skittles in each bag.
TInterval, data (list: L1, Freq: 1, C-Level: .99) = (57.398, 60.707)

98% confidence interval estimate for the standard deviation of the number of candies per bag:

1.7713 < sigma < 4.1563

Interpret each interval estimate:

I am 95% confident that the interval (.1882, .2405) contain the true proportions of all purple
candies.
I am 99% confident that all skittles bags will fall between (57.398, 60.707) for the mean of
candies per bag.
I am 98% confident that the standard deviation for all skittles bags will fall between (1.7713,
4.1563).

Hypothesis Tests
A hypothesis test is a procedure for testing a claim about a property of a population. It is a
procedure used to either reject or fail to reject a statistical hypothesis.

.01 significance level to test the claim that 20% of all Skittles candies are green.

.05 significance level to test the claim that the mean number of candies in a bag of Skittles is 56.

Interpretations of the results are showed in the work above.

Reflection
Conditions for doing interval estimates and hypothesis tests for population proportions.
1) The sample is a simple random sample.
2) Either or both of these conditions are satisfied: the population is normally distributed or n>30.
3) There are at least 5 successes and at least 5 failures.

The sample I took met the conditions. Although the n was <30, it was normally distributed. There
were at least 5 successes and 5 failures.
Conditions for doing interval estimates and hypothesis tests for populations means.
1) The sample is a simple random sample.
2) Either or both of these conditions is satisfied: The population is normally distributed or n > 30.
The sample I took met the requirements. Although n was actually <30, it was normally
distributed.
Conditions for doing interval estimates for population standard deviations.
1) The sample is a simple random sample.
2) The population must have normally distributed values (even if the sample is large). The
requirement of a normal distribution is much stricter here than in earlier sections, so departures
from normal distributions can result in large errors.
The sample I took met all of the conditions. The population was normally distributed and was a
simple random sample.
What possible errors could have been made by using this data?
There are a few errors that couldve occurred while using this data. A person could have
counted wrong on the number of total skittles in the bag as well as the quantity of each color.
Non-response error couldve also been a problem if some classmates didnt buy a bag of skittles
and record their data in time.
How could the sampling method be improved?
We couldve made everyone recount their skittle color quantities to make sure they had
no errors. We couldve had a bigger group be involved in the project to get more accurate
numbers.
State what conclusions you have drawn from your statistical research.
After figuring out the confidence intervals and hypothesis tests I have learned a few
things. For all of these things, it is important to have a simple random sample. I have also been
able to learn that by examining a sample we can estimate what the population would be for the
mean, standard deviation and proportion. I have been able to learn how to properly set up the
procedures of a hypothesis test and how to determine if I need to fail to reject or reject the null
hypothesis.

PART FOUR
I was able to learn lots while working on this project. It allowed me to see how all of the
things we learn in this course apply to something in real life. It required me to use what Ive
learned in class and apply it. I had to gather data, use charts and graphs, and had to interpret
and analyze all of the information. It was a good practice for the final test as well as seeing how
well I know the courses information.

I thought this class was very interesting. Even though its super hard for me to
understand at times, I feel like its useful to know. This project will probably help me in any math
class I may take in college. It will also help me better understand a class such as economics. A
medical study also uses statistics so this project will help many medical classes make more
sense.
This project helped develop my problem solving skills. I had to really focus on what
different things meant. In statistics, you need to read the problem and understand what its
asking. I was able to practice problem solving in many different ways with this project.
This project changed the way I look at math. My whole life I have complained how lots of
math concepts dont really apply to real life. But this project and this class in general has helped
me realize how important math is in ones daily life. All future career paths that Im considering
involve quite a bit of math.