CLUSTER 3 - DATA ANALYSIS, PROBABILITY, STATISTICS, DISCRETE MATH

Cluster 3 - Data Analysis, Probability, Statistics, & Discrete Math

Probability and statistics are the mathematics used to understand chance and to collect, organize, describe, and analyze numerical data. From weather reports to sophisticated studies of genetics, from election results to product preference surveys, probability and statistical language and concepts are increasingly present in the media and in everyday conversations. Students need this mathematics to help them judge the correctness of an argument supported by seemingly persuasive data.

The cluster 3 macros emphasize these:

Predict, determine, interpret and use probabilities
Collect, organize, represent, analyze, and evaluate data
Apply the concepts and methods of discrete mathematics to model and explore a variety of practical situations.
Use iterative patterns and processes to describe real world situations and solve problem

Standard 4.12: All Students Will Develop An Understanding Of Statistics And Probability And Will Use Them To Describe Sets Of Data, Model Situations, And Support Appropriate Inferences And Arguments
(http://www.state.nj.us/njded/cccs/09mathstan4_12.html)

By the end of the 4th grade:

Formulate and solve problems that involve collecting, organizing, and analyzing data.
Generate and analyze data obtained using chance devices such as spinners and dice.
Make inferences and formulate hypotheses based on data.
Understand and informally use the concepts of range, mean, mode, and median.
Construct, read, and interpret displays of data such as pictographs, bar graphs, circle graphs, tables, and lists.
Determine the probability of a simple event, assuming equally likely outcomes.
Make predictions that are based on intuitive, experimental, and theoretical probabilities.
Use concepts of certainty, fairness, and chance to discuss the probability of actual events.

By the end of the 8th grade:

Generate, collect, organize, and analyze data and represent this data in tables, charts, and graphs.
Select and use appropriate graphical representations and measures of central tendency (mean, mode and median) for sets of data.
Make inferences and formulate and evaluate arguments based on data analysis and data displays.
Use lines of best fit to interpolate and predict from data.
Determine the probability of a compound event.
Model situations involving probability, such as genetics, using both simulations and theoretical models.
Use models of probability to predict events based on actual data.
Interpret probabilities as ratios and percents.