Activity 3

MATH 216: Statistical Thinking

Descriptive Statistics Practice

Time Allocation: 15 minutes total

Part 1: Manual Calculations (5 minutes)

Dataset: Pulse Rates: [68, 72, 70, 65, 74, 69, 71, 67, 73, 70]

Instructions: Calculate the following statistics by hand:

Mean: _________________________
Median: _______________________
Standard Deviation: _____________

Show your work:

Part 2: Health Data Analysis (5 minutes)

Scenario: Health study on smoking habits and pulse rates:

Smoker: [Yes, No, No, Yes, No, Yes, No, No, Yes, No]
Pulse: [72, 68, 70, 75, 69, 74, 67, 71, 73, 70]

Calculate:

Group	Mean Pulse	Median Pulse	Standard Deviation
Smokers	__________	__________	_______________
Non-Smokers	__________	__________	_______________

Comparison:

Difference in mean pulse rates: ________________
Which group shows more variability? _____________

Part 3: Statistical Interpretation (5 minutes)

Based on your calculations:

Does smoking appear to affect pulse rates? □ Yes □ No
Evidence supporting your conclusion:
Potential limitations of this small dataset:
One follow-up question you would ask to better understand the relationship: