Are They Really That Tall?


Overview:

This activity is for students enrolled in an Algebra 1 mathematics class or above. Students should have some knowledge of descriptive statistics and be able to use the TI-83 graphing calculator and/or TI-Interactive! Software.

Student worksheet #1 examines univariate data. Student worksheet #2 examines bivariate data. You can use either or both depending on where you are in your curriculum. These activities can be revisited later on during a school year as well.

Teacher Preparation:

  1. There are currently 29 teams in the National Basketball Association (1999-2000 season). Each student in the class will be assigned to a different team. If you have more than 29 students in the class, you can double-up on a team (students with the same team should not be in the same group). When you augment lists of data later on, you will only want to have data from each team once.

  2. Students will need to access www.nba.com. They can download the statistics for their teams outside of class (if you do not have access in the classroom) and each student can bring the information back to class in order to complete the lessons.

  3. Have students download all the information for all parts of the activity at the same time. They can keep the data with them in a folder that they will access throughout the days of working on the activity.

  4. It is VERY important to teach the students how to AUGMENT the lists. Each student will have the heights of one member of the NBA team. We want each student to eventually have the heights of the WHOLE NBA in their list editor. Augmenting allows you to add a list to the bottom of another list. The trick is that you must link over the list that will be augmented and that list should be in L2 when it comes over since the master calculator will keep the bigger list in L1. Each student in the group should take their L1 and move it over to L2 for transfer purposes. See the link with directions for augmenting.

Standards

California Math Content Standards Addressed:

5.  Students determine the mean and the standard deviation of a normally distributed random variable.

6.  Students know the definitions of the mean, median, and mode of a distribution of data.

7.  Students compute the variance and the standard deviation of a distribution of data.

8.  Students organize and describe distributions of data by using a number of differenent methods, including frequency tables histograms, standard line and bar graphs, stem-and-leaf displays, scatterplots, and box-and-whisker plots.

Specific NCTM PSSM 2000 Content Standards:

In grades 9-12 all students should:

  •  
    		•  understand histograms, parallel box plots, and scatter plots and use them to display data;

  •  
    		•  for univariate measurement data, be able to display the distribution, describe its shape, and select and calculate summary statistics.
    NETS Technology Standard:

    5. Technology research tools

      Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.

    6. Students use technology tools to process data and report results.

      Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.


    The Integrating Technology into Math Instruction webpages project is partially funded by a grant from The Boeing Company. Integrating Technology into Math Instruction is a project of +PLUS+ and is displayed on the Los Angeles Educational Partnership Learning Exchange. +PLUS+ is an initiative of the Los Angeles Educational Partnership.
    Updated June 2000