Alejandra Miranda

Dulce Kim
Justin Helf
Saharut Phetpiroon

Skittles Group Project

For our project, each person in the class was asked to buy a 2.17-ounce size bag of
skittles. We then each submitted the data, which included submitting how many skittles were in
the bag in total and how many there were of each color. We compiled the data for the whole
class and determined the proportion of each color by creating a pie chart and pareto chart for the
number of candies of each color. For the next part of the project we needed to find the mean
number of candies in each bag, for this we used quantitative data and we created a frequency
histogram and a box plot to illustrate this data. For the last part of the project we needed to test
the hypothesis claim by using the significance level. Overall, we applied all that we have learned
this past semester in Math 1040 go figure out the solutions for our project. Lastly, we each had to
right our own reflection for our E-portfolio.

The graphs look like what we expected based on the data. Understandably, the graphs
would different than individual bags since some of our individual bags had more of one color
then others sometimes and not all the bags had the same number of Skittles, but the colors
average out the more data is collected. The amount of each color varied and appeared to be
random.
From our graphs, we can conclude that the distribution is skewed right. Due to some of the bags
having outliers, such as having less candy per bag, this tends to skew the data, in our case
skewed to the right. We believe our data agrees with that of the rest of the class.

Skittles Data Pie Chart

0.212 0.185
Red
Orange
Yellow
0.193 Green
0.206 Purple

0.204
 Pareto Chart
400 100%
350 90%
80%
300
70%
250 60%
200 50%
150 40%
30%
100
20%
50 10%
0 0%
Purple Green Yellow Orange Red

Categorical variables are also known as qualitative variables. These variables can be put into
different categories, such as a model of car, color, gender, etc. Quantitative data is data that can
be ordered and measured. The number of candies in a bag of skittles is quantitative, whereas the
color of the candy is categorical.
Graphing quantitative data is best done with histograms, stem leaf plots, dot plots, bar graphs,
and box plots. All of these types of graphs can be used to measure the quantity of a certain
variable. Categorical data is best graphed using a method that lets you compare the groups to one
another. A bar graph can work for both quantitative and categorical data, but a pie chart doesn’t
make sense for quantitative data because it is comparing categories to the whole. A pie chart
would effectively show the percentage of each color of skittles in a bag (categorical data), but
cannot effectively be used to show the number of skittles in a bag (quantitative data).
When it comes to calculations, mean and median only make sense for quantitative data. The
mean is the average quantity of something in an entire sample, therefore it is a more meaningful
calculation when applied to quantitative data. The median represents the middle value of the data
and once again makes the most sense only when applied to quantitative data. The best central
tendency to apply to categorical data is the mode. When looking at the colors of candy in a
skittles bag, you may not able to find the average color or the median color, but you can establish
which color occurs the most often. Likewise, when looking at the number of candies in a skittles
bag, the best values for probability distributions are going to be the average and median number
of skittles.

Histogram
12

10

0
[57, 58] (58, 59] (59, 60] (60, 61] (61, 62] (62, 63] (63, 64]
 Box Plot
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
1

Hypothesis Test & Confidence Interval

mean Plus/minus Lower Upper

bound bound
99% .204 .0218 .1823 .226
proportion
of yellow
95% mean 59.533 .641 58.89 60.17
number of
candies

Confidence Interval estimates from the population standard deviation use the sample standard
deviation in order to generate an interval that the population standard deviation of the number of
candies should fall within, with the specified level of confidence. In this case, we are 98%
confident that the population standard deviation is within _ and _. The problem with confidence
interval estimates taken from the sample standard deviation is that the sample standard deviation
may be quite different from the actual population standard deviation.
The purpose of taking sample data and calculating statistics from them is to apply those statistics
to a larger population. Since a population is larger than a sample, how well a sample statistic can
be used to estimate a population parameter is an issue. A confidence interval helps to solve that
issue by allowing us to provide a range of values that the population parameter is likely to fall
within. The intervals are constructed with a certain level of confidence, reflected as a percentage
such as 95%, 98% or 99%. This means that if the same population were to be examined on
multiple occasions and a parameter interval calculated each time, the intervals would contain the
true parameter in X% of cases.

Final Reflection

This Skittles project gave us an inside view as to how statistics can be applied in a real-life
setting. The concepts we applied can be used in the medical field, science, marketing, finance,
etc.
Understanding what things like confidence intervals are and what makes data significant or
unusual is very helpful in interpreting data. This project helped us to understand how businesses
and corporations might need to use statistics to produce accurate and consistent products.
Statistics can also be used to calculate demand and determine shipping and distribution needs
and evaluate product quality and customer satisfaction. In project we determined the average
proportion of each color of skittles candy that came in a bag as well as a confidence interval of
that population proportion. This could be helpful in evaluating customer candy preferences and
overall satisfaction based on flavor preference.
Companies can also use this info to save money or to set certain standards. Being able to find out
how to find and apply this information and how to create our own graphs to show what we have
learned will be helpful in almost any career choice.