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An International Journal for Teachers |
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Water Quality Statistics p.2 Ted Hodgson, Lyle Andersen,
Jim Robison-Cox & Clain Jones
Water quality experiments, especially the use of macroinvertebrates as indicators
of water quality, offer an ideal context for connecting statistics and science.
In the STAR programme for secondary students and teachers, water quality experiments
were also used as a context for teaching statistics. In this article, we trace
one activity that uses virtual streams and repeated sampling to develop the
notion of a hypothesis test for one proportion.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Common probability mass functions in two articles in Teaching Statistics
p. 8 Roger Johnson
COMPUTING CORNER
Resampling with Excel p. 9 Derek Christie
Standard Microsoft Excl functions and the excel Data Table facility are used
in randomization applications using resampling with and without replacement.
In All Probability, Probability is not All p. 15 Danny
Helman
The National Lottery is often portrayed as a game of pure chance with
no room for strategy. This misperception seems to stem from the application
of probability instead of expectancy considerations, and can be utilized to
introduce the statistical concept of expectation.
Turning Points in Random Permutations p. 18 Vassilios
Hombas
The mean and variance of the number of turning points in random permutations
are evaluated. These results are applied to a test of randomness of fluctuations.
Useful Data for Teaching Statistics from Hockey World Cup Matches p.21
C P Cholkar & M N Deshpande
This article presents some data from a major sports' event that can be used
in common statistical analyses.
Do Football Teams have Clusters of Wins, Draws and Defeats? p. 90
Nigel Smeeton
The issue of whether football teams have good or bad patches during the
course of a season is of concern to many supporters. This interest can be
harnessed to make classroom teaching of probability more relevant. In this
article, the unfamiliar runs test for multiple outcomes is used to test for
possible clustering in wins, draws and defeats in a short series of consecutive
matches.
CLASSROOM NOTES
Sensitivity of the c2 Goodness-of-Fit
Test to the Choice of Classes p. 23 Jennifer Mooney & Ian
Jolliffe
The c2 goodness-of-fit
test is often one of the first tests of hypotheses encountered by students.
When some of the expected frequencies are small, classes need to be combined.
A real-life example is given that illustrates a surprising sensitivity of
the results of the test to the way in which such combinations are chosen.
The Generalized Mean p. 25 Neil Sheldon
This article defines the generalized mean and shows how it relates to
such statistics as the arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Regression through the Origin p. 26 Larry Lesser
Odds That Don't Multiply Up p. 27 Mike Fletcher
This article discusses the calculation of odds for combined events.
BOOK REVIEW
Introductory Statistics with R by Peter Dalgaard
p. 30
Reviewed by Bradley Payne
STATISTICAL DIVERSIONS p 31 Peter Petocz
& Eric Sowey
The regular column in Teaching Statistics to get you thinking.
IASE Matters (centrefold) News and Notes (95) Prize Crossword (IBC)
Please email: alison.davies2@ntu.ac.uk with any comments or corrections.
©
The Teaching Statistics Trust 2006. The Teaching Statistics Trust is a registered
charity.
ISSN 0141-982X (Print) ISSN 1467-9639 (Online)