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Back to Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data

Exercises: Statistical Questions

Apply what you know about statistical and non-statistical questions.

Grade 6·18 problems·~20 min·Common Core Math - Grade 6·standard·6-sp-a-1
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A

Warm-Up: Review What You Know

These problems review key vocabulary before you begin.

1.

When you collect information from a group of people or objects, that information is called   ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲   .

2.

Which of the following is an example of collecting data?

B

Classify Each Question

For each question, decide: is it statistical or non-statistical?

1.

"How old are the students in this school?" Is this a statistical or non-statistical question?

2.

"How old am I?" (asked by one specific person) Is this a statistical or non-statistical question?

3.

"What is 9×69 \times 6?" Is this a statistical or non-statistical question?

4.

"How many hours per night do 6th graders in this school typically sleep?" Is this statistical or non-statistical?

5.

"How fast do cars travel on Highway 9 during the morning rush hour?" Is this statistical or non-statistical?

C

Mixed Practice

Apply what you know about statistical questions in different ways.

1.

Which of the following is the best definition of a statistical question?

2.

"Will it rain tomorrow?" Is this statistical or non-statistical?

3.

"How tall is the Eiffel Tower?" is a   ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲   question because it has one specific answer. "How tall are the students in this class?" is a   ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲ ̲   question because different students have different heights.

type of first question:
type of second question:
4.

Which revision correctly turns "How many pages does this book have?" into a statistical question?

5.

"What temperature is it outside right now at this school?" Which revision makes this a statistical question?

D

Apply Your Knowledge

Read carefully and use what you know about statistical questions.

1.

A student, Leo, is designing a class survey. He has three questions: (1) 'How many siblings do you have?' (2) 'What is 12+812 + 8?' (3) 'Who is the principal of our school?'

Which of Leo's questions is statistical?

2.

Mia wants to find out about homework habits in her school. She writes: 'Do students do homework?'

Explain whether Mia's question is statistical or non-statistical. Then rewrite it as a clear statistical question.

E

Find the Mistake

Each problem shows a student's reasoning that contains an error. Find and explain the mistake.

1.

Jordan classified this question as statistical: "What is 7×87 \times 8?"

Jordan's reasoning: "It involves numbers, and statistics is about numbers."

What is wrong with Jordan's reasoning?

2.

Priya classified "Will it snow on my birthday?" as a statistical question.

Priya's reasoning: "Nobody knows the answer for sure, so the answer could be different from what we expect."

What is wrong with Priya's reasoning?

F

Challenge Problems

These problems require deeper thinking about statistical questions.

1.

A student says: 'If I ask 100 people what 6×96 \times 9 is, I'll get different answers because some people will make mistakes. So it is a statistical question.' Do you agree? Explain why or why not.

2.

Write one original statistical question and one original non-statistical question about the same topic (your choice of topic). Explain clearly why each one is or is not statistical.

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