Lesson 9-4: Reflection and Summary

My Response:

1. Concerning the last assignment, write a brief statement about

similarities and differences between the two data sets.

The means for these sets of data were the same, 83, but their ranges
were very different as there was a range of 14 in lass 1 and a range of
4 in class 2. The standard deviations were very different as well.

2. Based on the calculations you made (mean, standard deviation,

interquartile range, and range), which class seems to perform better?

These two classes seem to have performed the same, because their
means, or averages, are the same, but because the interquartile range
between the two classes were so different, it shows that class one was
not as consistent as class 2, so therefore because class 2 was
consistent they seem to have performed better. There were no outliers
in class 2 as there were in class 1.

3. Based on the calculations you made (mean, standard deviation,

interquartile range, and range), which class seems to be more
consistent?

As I stated previously, class 2 seems to have been more consistent

because their interquartile range was smaller.

4. Concerning the z-scores you calculated, how would you describe

those scores in relation to the rest of each class?

Class 1 had a smaller z-score which means that they had less standard
deviations than class 2. What this means is that class two was far more
consistent and closer to the mean than class one was so you can see
that class two has more of a B average than class one per se.

Response to classmates:

1. Concerning the last assignment, write a brief statement about

similarities and differences between the two data sets. They both had
a class mean of 83 but class one range was much bigger then class 2
range. Class one had a range of 14 while class 2 had a range of 4. The
standard of deviation in classroom one was greater then class 2.
2. Based on the calculations you made (mean, standard deviation,
interquartile range, and range), which class seems to perform better?
Class 2 had more consistent data then classroom 1 but class 1 had
more people do better then the mean score. Since class 2 had
consistent data its standard deviation was lower then class 1. Class 2
had a standard deviation of 1.04 and class 1 had a standard deviation
of 4.57. This is because class one had a much bigger range then class
two. Since they both had a classmate who got an 85 on the test. The
person in class one Z-score was .437 and class 2 Z-score was .96. I
would say that as a class they both performed the same because they
both had the same mean.

3. Based on the calculations you made (mean, standard deviation,

interquartile range, and range), which class seems to be more
consistent? Class room 2 is defiantly more consistent. It had a smaller
range and smaller interquartile range. Its standard deviation was also
lower because the data was more consistent then class one. Class 1
had some outliers in its data while class room two's data was
consistent

4. Concerning the z-scores you calculated, how would you describe

those scores in relation to the rest of each class? The Z score for class
one was .437 and the Z score for class 2 was .96. This means that class
1 was closer to the mean then class 2. It also means that class 2 did
better then the average student then class 1.

I like your approach on number two, how you stuck with the idea that
both classes performed the same because that is what their mean was.
I agree that the average says a lot, but in my opinion I feel that a
consistency is more admirable than scattered scores.

1.) While the values for Class One consists of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s
Class Two strictly only displays values in the 80’s leading Class
one to have a larger range of 14 which is over 3 times as great
as Class Two’s range of 4. The wide range of values is also
apparent in the interquartile range where the value of 2 for Class
Two must be double to equal the interquartile range for Class
One. However, despite the varied values in range both have 83
as a mean and median and while Class Two has no values in the
70’s and 90’s it shares the commonality with Class One of 80’s
being the most abundant with values.
2.) Although by analyzing the mean and median for the two classes
it would appear both classes perform equally well, with taking
 ranges, standard deviations, and interquartile ranges, it appears
that Class two had a better performance. With the ranges and
standard deviation being smaller you know the scores are
concentrated within the 80’s while with Class One having
significantly larger ranges and standard deviation it’s known that
values for the class dip below 80 into the 70’s therefore overall
Class Two obtained the better performance without the worry of
scoring below an 80.
3.) I found Class Two to also be more consistent because the range
was over ¾ less of Class One’s value, the interquartile range was
½ of the other class’s than the opposing class therefore the
values were more concentrated suggesting that Class Two’s
results varied much less and with all values contained relatively
close to each other.
4.) The smaller z-score of Class One displays that an 85 is closer to
the mean, with a z-score of .4769, in comparison to other values.
On the other hand the z-score of 1.83 of Class Two shows the
receiving an 85 for the class is further from the average because
less data goes beyond that value due to the fact it’s the last
number in the set of data. So it appears a more outstanding
receiving the 85 in Class One than Class Two because you prove
to be more capable than the others making the grade more of an
honor.

Nice answer to number four. I actually struggled with that one myself,
it is hard to put it into words I guess. I think that your explanation
about the 85 being “more of an honor” was an enriching point of view.