Math Opening Problem

• Is the data categorical or quantitative (numerical)?

Quantitative data because it deals with numbers.

Why was the data collected like this?

It was collected for the purpose of seeing the data for the heights of grade 10 girls; the average, the median, mode, range, etc. It was also made to see the similarities and differences between the girls' heights.

• Is the data discrete or continuous, and what are your reasons for making your decision?

Continuous because it can be in between heights; it's not one whole number, it could be a decimal. For example, 168.7 cm.

• What does the height 140 - 149 actually mean?

It means that the height is somewhere between 140 and 149. Most of the time we used the middle of the number when graphing. For example it would be between 144.5.

How should the data be displayed?

It should be displayed how it is displayed now - in a table where you can clearly see the range of values and frequencies. Later, one may be able to put this data into a graph, and look at the patterns there.

How can the shape of the distribution be described?

The data is positively skewed, meaning the parabola will be leaning slightly to the right.

•  Are there any outliers in the data and how should they be treated?

To see if there are any outliers, one should use the formula (IQR*15) + UQ or (IQR*1.5) - LQ. Outliers distort the data and messes with it so it isn't accurate. Outliers should be removed from the data altogether, although when making a box and whisker plot they should be marked with a symbol to show that they are outliers.

•  What is the best way of measuring the centre of the height distribution?

Sketching a graph and seeing where the median stands. Either that or looking at the data and dividing by two to get the median.

What measure of the distribution’s spread is appropriate?  
It depends on the information, but usually counting by fives but only writing the tens increments is appropriate because you can get in between the lines perfectly.

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History BlogPost

Why did the constitution allow slavery to continue, if the Declaration of Independence claimed that ‘all men are created equal’?

The constitution allowed slavery to continue while the Declaration of Independence claimed that all men are equal because when they are talking about ‘all men’ they are talking about rich white men, and not keeping slaves in consideration. Those who were part of the Articles of Confederation were rich white men, so those who would be creating the Declaration of Independence would also be men trying to help themselves. John P Kaminski, a historian, said that all of the movements that people created never worked because they weren't passionate enough for it. “The men at the constitutional convention never considered getting rid of slavery. The revolutionary talk of freedom and equality had been left behind.”  No one really tried enough to banish slavery, since they didn't really know what it felt like to be a slave. Another quote from Kaminski states that Americans were more passionate about keeping their ‘private property’: “Americans in general and all the men... wanted a united, well ordered... in which private property - including slave property - would be secure.” William Freehling, another historian, said that though the founding fathers, like Thomas Jefferson, had broken through the barriers of racism, but he still believed that whites were superior to blacks. “Jefferson suspected that blacks had lower intellectual abilities than did whites.” So though he did ‘fight’ on their side, he still believed they were inferior, which caused them not to include the slaves in the population. In conclusion, when writing in the Declaration of Independence that all men were equal, they were speaking of rich white men, and not the slaves who were part of the population.