Question

I have three jars. In the first jar there are 16 buttons, in the second I have 28 buttons and in the third, I have 37 buttons.

What is the smallest number that must be moved to ensure that each jar will have the same number of students?

CHOICES:

a. 10
b. 11
c. 12
d. 13
e. 14

I don't have much time, help!

Answer 1

Answer:

Zeke likes to collect buttons and he keeps them in a jar. Zeke can empty the buttons out of the jar, so he can see all of his buttons at once.

Task_1_295826ebc1b74f53d11f89e10b14ad1b

Which of the following are statistical questions that someone could ask Zeke about his buttons? (A statistical question is one that anticipates an answer based on data that vary.) For each question, explain why it is or is not a statistical question.

What is a typical number of holes for the buttons in the jar?

How many buttons are in the jar?

How large is the largest button in the jar?

If Zeke grabbed a handful of buttons, what are the chances that all of the buttons in his hand are round?

What is a typical size for the buttons in the jar?

How are these buttons distributed according to color?

Write another statistical question related to Zeke’s button collection.

IM Commentary

A statistical question is a question that can be answered by collecting data and where there will be variability in the data. This is different from a question that anticipates a deterministic answer. For example, “How many minutes do 6th grade students typically spend on homework each week?†is a statistical question. We expect that not all 6th grade students spend the same amount of time on homework, and the time spent on homework may also vary from week to week. On the other hand, this is not a statistical question: “How much time did Juana spend studying last night?†This question is based on a single number and has a deterministic answer.

The question "How many buttons are in the jar?" is answered by counting the buttons. This produces a single value--it is not answered by collecting data that vary.

The question "What is a typical number of holes for the buttons in the jar?" is a statistical question. To answer this question, students might compute the mean or the median (both measures of center that are used to describe a typical value). But in either case they would need to collect data on the number of holes by recording a value for each button. Because not all buttons have the same number of holes, there would be variability in the data that would be used to answer this question. That is what makes this a statistical question.