CurriculumGrade 6Mathematics

Statistical Variability and Data Displays

Aligned to 6.SP.A.3 — Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

What this lesson teaches

A statistical question is one that has answers that vary, like 'how tall are the students?' You can summarize a set of data with its center: the mean is the average, and the median is the middle value when the numbers are in order.

Worked example

Find the mean of 4, 6, and 8. Add them to get 18, then divide by how many numbers there are (3): 18 divided by 3 is 6.

Practice questions

  1. Find the mean of 2, 4, and 9.
  2. Find the median of 3, 7, and 5.
  3. Is 'what is my favorite color?' a statistical question?

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

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En español

Variabilidad Estadística y Representación de Datos

Una pregunta estadística es aquella cuyas respuestas varían, como '¿qué tan altos son los estudiantes?' Puedes resumir un conjunto de datos con su centro: la media es el promedio y la mediana es el valor del medio cuando los números están ordenados.

Ejemplo: Encuentra la media de 4, 6 y 8. Súmalos para obtener 18, luego divide entre la cantidad de números que hay (3): 18 ÷ 3 = 6.

More Statistics & Probability lessons

What Makes a Statistical Question6.SP.A.1Center, Spread, and Shape6.SP.A.2Dot Plots, Histograms, and Box Plots6.SP.B.4Summarizing a Data Set6.SP.B.5

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