Real-Life Problems That Can Be Solved By Statistics

Real-Life Problems That Can Be Solved By Statistics

By Rommel Morga

Statistics and you!

What do you think of when you hear "statistics"?​

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Statistics and you!

What do you think of when you hear "statistics"?​

​Have you ever participated in a class election? How about a survey on social media?

Q4W1

Statistics and you!

What do you think of when you hear "statistics"?​

​Have you ever participated in a class election? How about a survey on social media?

If you have, then you've already taken part in STATISTICS!

Q4W1

Multiple Select

Which of the following do you think is a statistical question?

• Who is my favorite Korean Drama star?

• What are the favorite Korean Darma of the grade 7 students?

• How many Covid-19 positive cases are there in General Trias City?

• What is the typical age of the grade 7 Mathematics teacher?

Identify each of the following data sets as categorical or numerical.

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Multiple Choice

Ages of grade 7 students

• CATEGORICAL

• NUMERICAL

Multiple Choice

Favourite flavour of ice cream for each of 6th graders

• CATEGORICAL

• NUMERICAL

Multiple Choice

Internet browsing hours spent of grade 7 students

• CATEGORICAL

• NUMERICAL

Multiple Choice

My favourite Milktea flavors

• CATEGORICAL

• NUMERICAL

Multiple Choice

Number of students in each section

• CATEGORICAL

• NUMERICAL

Definition of Statistics​

STATISTICS is a branch of Applied Mathematics specializing in procedures for collecting, organizing, presenting, analyzing, and interpreting data from observations.

Subject | Mathematics

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Test Result Analysis​

In Education

Experiment Results

In Science​

Quality Control

In Manufacturing

​

Elections and other government services

In Government​

​

Subject | Mathematics

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​A statistical question is one that can be answered by collecting data that vary. There are two types of data: numerical and categorical. Numerical data set are those in numerical form which are either continuous or discrete. Discrete data are those that can be counted in a finitely while continuous data are measurements that can take any value from an infinite range. Categorical data take non- numerical values, such as colors, information or questions that are answerable by YES or NO, labels, etc. (example: large, medium, and small)

Solving Real-life Problems Using Statistics

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​1. Pose the question that can be answered by data.

2. Determine a plan to collect data.

3. Organize and summarize the data.

4. Interpret the results and answer the question posed in Step 1 using the organized and summarized data.

​

​1. How old are you?

2. What is your favorite subject?

3. How many siblings does Elise have?

​Non-statistical

Statistical vs Non-statistical Questions

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​Statistical

​1. How many hours does the grade 7 students spend time in studying? (Summarizing question)

2. Do the grade 7 students spend more time in social media than studying? (Comparing question)

​​3. Do students who spend more time in studying do better in exam?

(Relationship question)

Examples of Categorical Data

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​1. Do you follow the health protocols given by the Department of Health?

2. Wintermelon is my favorite milk tea flavor.

​3. Blue signifies calmness, tranquility, relaxation, and peace.

​​1. The heights of all grade 7 students

2. Age of a person

3. Distance traveled by airplane over time.

Continuous Data

Examples of Numerical Data

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Discrete Data​

​​​1. Number of boys and girls in grade 7 per section Sunflower

2. The result of rolling 3 dice

3. The number of books in the shelves

Sample Problem

Subject | Math

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​On January 20, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the Philippines.* This event was followed by the declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020.** To solve this problem, data are gathered to answer the following statistical questions.

Sample Problem

Subject | Math

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​1. How many people in each province are getting infected by the virus daily?

2. Which sectors of society are severely affected by the pandemic?

3. Among the age groups in the country, who are most vulnerable to the virus?

4. How long does it take for people to recover from the virus?

Subject | Math

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​Observe that the data needed to answer the statistical questions above have different nature. The number of people infected by the virus is a discrete data. The time it takes for people to recover from the virus is a continuous data. The sectors of the society that are severely affected by the pandemic & the people who are most vulnerable to be infected by the virus are categorical data.

Subject | Math

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​How do you think gathering data to answer the statistical questions above can solve the problem on COVID-19 Pandemic? What other statistical questions and data are needed to address the problem.