Naomi Graham 2.3.

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IB Biology SL Topic 1 - Statistical Analysis To examine the relationships of living things to their environments and each other, biologists use the scientific method when designed experiments, part of which is to make observations resulting in the collection of measurements from a sample group. Statistics is a branch of mathematics, which allows us to sample small portions from habitats, communities, or biological populations, and draw conclusions about the larger population. It measures the differences and relationships between sets of data. 1.1.1 State that error bars are a graphical representation of the variability of data. Error bars are a graphical representation of the variability of data. They can be used to show either the range of data or the standard deviation on a graph. 1.1.2 Calculate the mean and standard deviation of a set of values Mean average of data points. I.e. add data, divide by number of values Standard Deviation the measure of how the individual observations of a data set are dispersed or spread around the mean. Use SD function on calculator. Stat function Enter values in table F2 (calc) F1 (1var) Sx = standard deviation 1.1.3 State that the term standard deviation is used to summarize the spread of values around the mean, and that 68% of the values fall within on standard deviation of the mean. SD is used to summarize the spread of values around the mean and to compare the means and spread of data between 2 or more sets of data. In a normal distribution about 68% of all values lie within +/- 1 standard deviation of the mean. This rises to about 95% for +/- 2 standard deviations from the mean. 1.1.4 Explain how the standard deviation is useful for comparing the means and the spread of data between two or more samples. A small standard deviation indicates that the data is clustered closely around the mean value. Conversely, a large standard deviation indicates a wider spread around the mean.

Naomi Graham 2.3.12

1.1.5 Deduce the significance of the difference between two sets of data using calculated values for t and the appropriate tables. In order to determine whether or not the difference between two sets of data is a significant difference, the t-test is commonly used. We use the mean, SD and sample size to calculate the value of t. For the t-test to be applied, the data must have a normal distribution and a sample size of at least 10. The t-test can be used to compare two sets of data and measure the amount of overlap. The higher the value of P, the more the data overlap. I.e. if P=1, 2 sets of data are exactly the same. If P = 0, 2 sets of data are not at all the same. Start by stating null hypothesis. H0 = There is no significant difference. If our t-test instructs us to accept H0, it means the 2 population means are NOT significantly different. If it instructs to reject H0, it means the 2 populations means ARE significantly different. N.B. Degrees of freedom = (total)-2 P = 0.05 (is the probability that there is no difference between 2 samples) CV = (find on t-table using df column, and 0.05 column) 1.1.6 Explain that the existence of a correlation does not establish that there is a causal relationship between 2 variables. Correlation may show a causal relationship between 2 variables e.g. an increase in height results in an increase in weight taller people are heavier. Some variables show correlation, yet there is no causal relationship between them, and it may be a result of chance. When using a mathematical correlation test, the value of r signifies the correlation. It can vary from +1 (completely positive correlation) to 0 (no correlation) to -1 (completely negative correlation).