Statistical Question Statistics Example 2
Follow the full solution, then compare it with the other examples linked below.
Example 2
mediumRewrite each non-statistical question to make it statistical: (a) 'How many pages does this book have?' (b) 'What is the temperature right now?'
Solution
- 1 Step 1: To make a question statistical, we need to introduce variability — ask about multiple observations or a range of values.
- 2 Step 2: (a) Rewrite: 'How many pages do the books in the school library have?' — different books will have different page counts, creating variability.
- 3 Step 3: (b) Rewrite: 'What are the daily high temperatures in our city over the past month?' — temperatures vary from day to day, creating variability.
Answer
(a) 'How many pages do the books in the school library have?' (b) 'What are the daily high temperatures in our city over the past month?'
Turning a non-statistical question into a statistical one requires broadening the scope so that data collection yields variable responses. This shift from a single fixed answer to a distribution of answers is the hallmark of statistical thinking.
About Statistical Question
A statistical question is a question that anticipates variability in answers — it cannot be answered with a single fixed number because different data points will give different responses. It requires collecting data from multiple sources to answer.
Learn more about Statistical Question →More Statistical Question Examples
Example 1 easy
Which of the following is a statistical question? (a) How old is the headteacher? (b) How old are th
Example 3 mediumClassify each question as statistical or non-statistical and justify: (a) 'How many goals did our te
Example 4 hardA student asks: 'Do students who eat breakfast perform better on tests?' (a) Is this a statistical q