Ashley Jimenez

Term Project: Rainbow

The point of this skittles project is to gather some of the different concepts we have
learned throughout the semester and use them to gather and analyze data and create charts, as
well as create tests on the data and make informed conclusions. The task was to buy a common
size bag of skittles and determine how many of each color skittle was in the bag. After that we
gather the data from the class as a whole to perform statistical tests and analyses.
Organizing and Displaying Categorical Data: Colors

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According to the pie chart, the amount of each color is relatively uniform. I believe the
class as a whole is more uniform than my data alone, but my numbers are not too far off. The
amount of each color per bag doesnt vary too much between bags. My data, although it doesnt
show being quite as uniform, is very similar to the class totals. See the below chart.

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Organizing and Displaying Quantitative Data: Number of Candies per Bag

Mean: 60.1
Standard Deviation: 2.36
5-Number-Summary:

Min= 57 Q1=58 Med.=60

Q3=62 Max=65

Number of candies in my bag: 9 red, 14 orange, 9 yellow, 16 green, 10 purple

Total number of bags in the sample: 18 bags

Number of Candies per Bag

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10
Frequency

Frequency

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0
55

60

65

More

Number of Candies

The shape of the distribution is skewed-right. I was expecting to see more of a uniform
shape, but given the amount of data there is I can see why it would be skewed-right instead. I
think the data overall from the class is more uniform than my own data because the sample size
is larger. However, I still believe my sample is relatively uniform.
Reflection
Categorical data is non-numerical, such as colors, shapes, or certain qualities of the data.
Pie charts and different bar graphs make sense to use with categorical data. Quantitative data is

entirely numerical data that we can make mathematical calculations from. Pareto charts,
histograms, and scatterplots are good to use when working with quantitative data. Pictographs
are never a good idea to use because they do not properly display the data.
Confidence Interval Estimates
Confidence intervals can be used to find the interval in which the true value of some data
exists.
*I used my calculator to come up with the following answers.*
Construct a 99% confidence interval estimate for the true proportion of yellow candies:
Construct a 95% confidence interval estimate for the true mean number of candies per
bag:
Construct a 98% confidence interval estimate for the standard deviation of the number of
candies per bag:
Hypothesis Tests
The purpose of a hypothesis test is to test whether or not a claim is true.
Reflection
In order to calculate confidence intervals you have to be aware of the margin of error as
well as the other basic notations. For hypothesis testing you must start with the null and
alternative hypotheses, followed by a test statistic, test, and finish with a rejection of the
hypothesis or a failure-to-reject. Some possible errors that could have been made in this

particular scenario was that we did not have all the necessary notations in order to calculate what
was needed. This could lead to false calculations and conclusions.
Reflective Writing
Working on this project allowed me to go back and reuse some of the skills that were
learned this semester. Although I can still use some work, I have gained a better understanding of
statistics and statistical analysis. When I understand what is happening it is very interesting to
see all the complicatedness of everything, but also understand that all the sloppy, indecisive
scribbles (my work) turn out to be something that has meaning.
My major is Psychology, and with that I am required to take a psychological statistics
class. This intro to stats class has acted as a prerequisite, but also as a basis for understanding
that future course, and possibly others depending on the circumstances.
This project was an interesting one. Im the type of person who always wonders, When
am I ever going to use this stuff in real life? Other than in an educational forum, I dont see
where hypothesis testing or confidence intervals are going to be of use to me. I dont know
everything about being a psychologist, and anything is possible, but I dont see where those skill
sets would come in handy to me. However, I know that situations may present themselves, and
knowing of statistical skills could be useful either way.
I most enjoyed seeing the different distributions between the data from the class as a
whole when compared to my own data. It was like seeing two separate samples and comparing
how the two relate or dont. There were both similarities and differences, but I think the two data
sets definitely had more similarities. It was just interesting to see how two different samples can
relate so much, especially when the sample size varies greatly.