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Statistics in Schools is a free Census Bureau program that uses the data to create resources for K-12 students in a variety of subjects.
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Activities Overview Math History/Social Studies Geography Sociology English Home and Distance Learning Activities Grades K - 2 Grades 3 - 5 Grades 6 - 8 Grades 9 - 12
Apportionment Resources Constitution Day Data Access Tools Fun Facts Games Historical Documents and Images Kahoot! Games Learn About the Decennial Census Maps Monthly Highlights Videos Visualizations Warm-Up Activities
Overview Math History Geography Sociology English
About Us Program Benefits Census 101 for Students Teacher's Guide to Tools Newsroom Partner with SIS Contact Us

Census in Counties - Describing and Comparing Histograms to Understand American Life

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Census in Counties - Describing and Comparing Histograms to Understand American Life

Activity Description

hm1_160

Students will analyze a variety of county-level census data, including on employment, technology, and transportation, in histograms to compare and contrast the shapes of their distributions and to interpret measures of center and spread in context.

Suggested Grade Level

9-12

Approximate Time Required

45-60 minutes

Learning Objectives

  • Students will be able to analyze data and describe data distributions.
  • Students will be able to understand skewness and how it affects the mean and median.
  • Students will be able to determine the direction of skewness from a distribution’s mean and median.
  • Students will be able to understand the impact of outliers on the standard deviation and interquartile range.

Materials Required

  • The student version of this activity, 16 pages

Download Teacher Version
Download Student Version

Additional Information

web Modes Less Traveled
web Who Drives to Work? Commuting by Automobile in the U.S. 2013

Teacher Notes

Blooms Taxonomy

Understanding
Blooms Taxonomy

Students will understand how the mean and median relate in skewed distributions. They will also analyze and
evaluate census data to draw conclusions about which measure of center is more representative for various
distributions.

Subject

High School Math

Topics

  • Histograms
  • Measures of center
  • Measures of spread
  • Shape of distributions
  • Skewness

Skills Taught

  • Interpreting skewness from a graph
  • Interpreting the standard deviation and interquartile range
  • Understanding skewness and its effect on the mean and the median
  • Understanding when to use the mean versus the median
Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021
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