D2.2 Make and test predictions about the likelihood that the mean and the mode(s) of a data set will be the same for data collected from different populations.

Skill: Make and Verify Predictions


Data can vary from one population to another. If two populations are similar, the modes for the two data sets will more than likely be the same and the means will be relatively close. In the primary grades, students are collecting data from a small population. A population is the total number of individuals or items that fit a particular description (for example, days in a month, cubes in a container, students in Grade 3).

Example

Predictions based on analysis of collected data

  • Most students in our class prefer to read fiction, not non-fiction. I believe that students in the other Grade 3 class will also prefer fiction.
  • This week, the mean amount of time that students in my class spent doing their favourite activity was 20 minutes each day. I believe that having the same mean next week is likely.

Source: The Ontario Curriculum. Mathematics, Grades 1-8 Ontario Ministry of Education, 2020.