Statistics

The first step in the scientific method is to make decisions- we may think that there is a correlation The second step is the collection of measurable data.- the analysis of this will show a causation. e.g. do bean plants grow better in the sun of in the shade? One would use samples of bean plants that represent the population. In stats we sample a portion of a population and draw conclusions for the bigger population. Stats measures the differences and relationships between sets of data. Depending on the sample size we take was can draw conclusions with a certain le el of confidence- a statistical test we may be then able to determine to a !"# certainty that they grow better in the sunlight e en as far as !!#- nothing though is certain- i.e. to $%%# The mean & the a erage of all the data points- the central tendency of data. The range is the spread of data- the highest take away the lowest- it shows the spread of the data and the lowest and the highest are called the outliers. The median is when the data is arranged in order and the middle al e is the medianif there are two middle alues add up and 'by (. The mode is the most common score- it is good to be used in bimodial distributions and for )ualitati e data. *em. Do not calculate the mean of a erages themsel es. +,,,,,,,,,,,,------------of ratios .#/ 0ust the raw alues. 1---------------------------------------when the measurement are on linear e.g. the p2 scale. Standard deviation. This shows how data is spread about the mean. 34# in the $st SD of data and !"# in (SD of data.s& standard de iation. 5s biologists we are confident if the data is in the !"# area if it falls into the ( SD position. ie when the prob &%.%"..(."# in each of the tails of the graph/ on the T table- use to compare the differences between the means. Error bars- show the ariability of data- error bars can be used to show either the range of data or the SD on a graph.- only ha e to use this and they can be hand-drawn as e6cel finds it hard to do error bars of different heights. The sample mean 6 is an estimate of the true populations mean 7-the population mean8 this is indicated by the standard error of the mean S.9. : an error measurement- it allows us to calculate the !"# confidence inter al.