AP Stats Final Project
Projects may be done individually or with a partner. No groups of more than two will
be allowed.
Timeline:
Wed (5/5): Receive guidelines for Final Project
Fri (5/7): Topic idea/question(s) finalized
Mon-Fri (5/10-5/14): Introduction and data collection
Fri (5/14): Half-day
Mon-Fri (5/17-5/21): Data collection and finalize rough draft
Mon-Fri (5/24-5/28): Work on presentation
Mon (5/31): No School
Tue (6/1): Project presentations - Papers due on day of presentation.
Thur (6/3): Project presentations - Papers due on day of presentation.
Mon (6/7): Project presentations - Papers due on day of presentation.
Project Ideas:
1. Individual Topic: You pose a question and do your best at answering it. I
challenge you to create a project that can promote change within our school
and/or community – in other words, make the project meaningful and relevant
to your life and the community in which you live. Visit the following web
sites for sample student projects from other AP Stats classes. (Gather some
ideas, review their project, determine how you could improve upon one,
search for other samples of student projects related to AP Stats, etc.)
http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/TomRobinson/Stats/Photos/index.html
http://www.webb.org/math/starnes/ori/stuproj.html
http://whs.wsdweb.org/faculty/sschwartz/projectlist.htm (probably the best one)
http://courses.ncssm.edu/math/Stat_inst01/intro.htm
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2. Test a Local or National Claim: You conduct an experiment (or
observational study) to test the claim of a product, campaign, advertisement,
etc. For example; you may want to know if Kellogg’s Raisin Bran cereal
really does contain two scoops of raisins in every box. Or, do 4 out of 5
dentists really recommend one brand of gum? Or, does Coke zero really taste
like regular Coke? Watch commercials on TV, look in the newspaper, etc. to
find ads or claims that are of interest to you. Make sure to incorporate the
source of these claims in your report and presentation.
3. SMARTBoard or Fathom Activity/Project: It’s your turn to be the teacher.
Choose and/or create an activity or project (see #1 above) that incorporates the
use of either SMART Notebook or Fathom software to teach a specific topic
covered in AP Stats. Think of a topic that was difficult for you and create a
presentation or lesson plan to teach that topic. I have several books full of
activities and/or projects that incorporate Fathom (a statistical software
program). Do one. Evaluate it. Improve it. Critique it. Make it something
other classes can do to help them understand an AP Stats concept.
You can also construct a presentation using SMART notebook that would
help teach future students about a specific topic. You can download SMART
notebook software at:
(http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Products/SMART+Board+software/).
Fathom resources:
http://www.keypress.com/fathom/pages/community_exchange/learn_fathom.php
http://www.keypress.com/fathom/pages/community_exchange/activities_and_docum
ents/index.php
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SMART resources:
http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/
Sample student and teacher projects:
http://www.woodward.edu/faculty/us/math/apstat/activities.html
http://www.paly.net/~sfriedla/apstatistics/APStatMegaProject.htm
http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/TomRobinson/Stats/Photos/
If you choose this type of final project we’ll modify the evaluation tool used to
score your project.
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Evaluation of Final Project
All written reports are due on the day you present your project to the class. Both written
reports and presentations must be submitted electronically – my email is
dnelson@sw.wednet.edu.
Report (typed document)
70%
1. Introduction
10%
a. Statement of the question you are answering
b. Population
c. Parameter of interest
d. Hypotheses
e. Background information
2. Data Collection
20%
a. Type of sampling
b. Type of experiment
c. How was survey administered
d. Data collection if an observational study
e. Resources used
f. References of previously done work that is similar to your own.
3. Data Analysis
20%
a. Provide data in tabular form (or other)
b. Restatement of hypotheses in symbol form
c. Conditions for your significance test
d. Significance test calculations
e. Graphical displays
4. Conclusion
20%
a. Results in terms of the hypotheses
b. Limitations
c. Ways to improve your project
Presentation
1. Medium
a. Visual (of question, data, calculations, etc.)
2. Summative - Content
a. Introduction
b. Data Collection
c. Data Analysis
d. Conclusion
3. Delivery
a. Clear
b. Effective
c. Comprehendible
d. Time conscious
30%
6%
18%
6%
Bonus
A project that promotes change within the school and/or community
AP Stats
10%
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Rubric for Individual Topic Project
Introduction
Score
Criteria
4
Question clearly contains the population of interest.
Hypotheses are clearly stated in words which identify the parameter(s) of
interest.
Introduction clearly connects the question and hypotheses.
Background information (if applicable)
3
All (or any) of the above criteria are partially met.
2
Only two of the above criteria are met completely.
1
Only one of the above criteria is met completely.
0
No introduction is present.
Data Collection
Score
Criteria
4
Sampling method is clearly and accurately reported.
Type of experimental design is clearly and accurately reported or
description of how the survey was administered is present or description of
how data was obtained if it is an observational study.
Diagram of experiment or copy of the survey or copy of data is present.
Material and/or resources that were needed to carry out your project are
clearly stated.
Reference material you used to assist you with your project (i.e. newspaper
article, sample student project from another school, book, research journal,
etc.).
All of the above criteria are connected in a clear and coherent manner.
3
Only four of the above criteria are met completely.
2
Only three of the above criteria are met completely.
1
Only two of the above criteria are met completely.
0
Data collection section is not acceptable.
Data Analysis
Score
Criteria
4
All data is present in tabular (or other) form.
Hypotheses are clearly stated in symbol notation which identifies the
parameter(s) of interest.
Type of significance test is clearly and accurately stated.
Conditions for significance test are addressed (not necessarily met – see
conclusion for more information).
Significance test is clearly (show calculations) and accurately reported.
All of the above criteria are connected in a clear and organized manner.
3
Only four of the above criteria are met completely.
2
Only three of the above criteria are met completely.
1
Only two of the above criteria are met completely.
0
Data analysis is not acceptable.
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Conclusion
Score
Criteria
4
Results are stated in terms of the hypotheses and answer the original
question.
Discussions of the limitations to your project are included (why certain
conditions were not able to be met, etc.).
Suggestion(s) for ways of improving your project given more time and/or
resources are present.
All of the above criteria are clear and well written.
3
All (or any) of the above criteria are partially met.
2
Only two of the above criteria are met completely.
1
Only one of the above criteria is met completely.
0
No conclusion is present.
Presentation
Medium
Score
2
1
0
Content
Score
4
3
2
1
0
Delivery
Score
2
1
0
AP Stats
Criteria
Question, data, calculation, and conclusion are visible to audience.
Appropriate medium is used to help convey the topic and what the
individual(s) did for his/her project.
Showed some use of medium, but not complete or done in poor quality.
No medium or visuals were present.
Criteria
All four components of the project (intro, data collection, data analysis, and
conclusion) are clearly addressed in the presentation.
Only three of the components of the project were addressed or all four were, but
not completely.
Only two of the components of the project were addressed or three were, but not
completely.
Only one of the above criteria is met completely or two were, but not
completely.
No content in presentation.
Criteria
Presentation was clear, effective, timely, and comprehendible – well done.
Presentation could be improved to meet the above criteria – okay.
No presentation.
5
List of Previous AP Statistics Final Projects
2008
• 13th year plan presentation appropriate for SWHS students?
• Do SWHS freshmen involved in sports have a higher GPA?
• How many gallons of gas does the average person use in one week?
• Are South Whidbey students receiving more than the average required amount of
physical fitness each day?
• We decided to test whether or not students prefer the taste of organic produce
over conventional produce.
• Does hair color effect intelligence?
• Will later school starts increase test scores?
• Is there a significant amount of cars that speed on Langley Road?
• Is there a difference in year-long classes as opposed to semester classes of the
same subject?
2007
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Are there a1000 chips in every bag of Chips Ahoy cookies?
Do the distributions of eye color differ between men and women?
Are the proportions of colors of Sour Patch kids equal in each bag?
Has explicit music in the Top 40 increased since the 1990’s?
Do the incarceration rates for Blacks and Whites differ significantly from one
region of the United States to another?
Is there a difference in the senior class between male and female rhythm
perception abilities?
Is listening to details in a movie dependent on age of grade school students?
Effects of eating habits on GPA: Do students who eat breakfast have a higher
GPA than students who don’t? Do carnivores have a higher GPA than
vegetarians?
2006
• Is there a relationship between enrollment in a band class and performance in
math courses?
• Is there an association between gender and political views?
• Is there significant evidence to conclude that more females drive sport utility
vehicles than males?
• Are there differences in short and long term memory retention between male and
females of varying high school ages?
• Is there a relationship between gender (and age) and after high school plans?
• Analysis of expected winnings for Plinko (game commonly used on The Price is
Right) based on location of dropping your Plinko chip.
• Is hot lunch or cold lunch preferred more by the students at SWHS?
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2005
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Does the proportion of women in advertisements in men’s magazines differ from
the proportion of women in advertisements in women’s magazines?
Are there two scoops of raisins in Kellogg’s Raisin Bran?
Does every cookie in a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies have the same
number of chocolate chips?
Is there an association between color proportions of fruit loops among different
boxes?
Has fighting in the NHL increased or decreased after Todd Bertuzzi’s penalty
against Steve Moore on 3/9/2004?
Is there any correlation between the class (9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th) of a student and
where they usually get their lunch?
Is there a strong relationship between high school GPA and SAT scores?
Does having kids effect a parents decision to stop or continue smoking?
Do high schools or elementary schools have more computers for their students?
After one year in the NBA, what is more financially beneficial for basketball
players: entering the NBA draft directly out of high school or attending a fouryear college before entering the NBA draft?
At the state golf tournament, will 18 holes of golf improve the second day of the
two-day tournament?
Which is a better predictor of a MLB teams wins: a MLB team’s OPS (on-base
percentage plus slugging percentage) or ERA (earned run average)?
Is there a correlation among students at SWHS between their average amount of
sleep per night and their GPA?
How well do senior athletes know their cumulative GPA?
Do SWHS students vary their responses to questions about drug use based on the
survey method?
Is the claim about the stated odds of winning on all Washington State $50 Fiesta
scratch tickets accurate?
2004:
First year of projects. All students did a lesson plan on a specific AP Stats topic and
presented it to the class.
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