AP Statistics Syllabus
∑ textbook (with cover) - Stats: Modeling the world by Bock, Velleman, and De Veaux
∑ binder for relevant information
∑ TI – 83 /TI-84 calculator or a calculator that can perform statistical analysis
Speaking of technology...your graphing calculator will be the primary technological source
you will use to help you....we also will attempt to explore the computer software…however,
on all of your assessments in the course and on the AP Statistics exam in May you will only be
allowed to use your calculator.
The course grade will be based on the following:
Performance Assessments (Projects, Portfolio, and other interesting ideas)
Summative Assessments (Statistics Concepts)
Summative Cumulative 1st Semester Exam
Project
Practice: Practice problems will be given for, well, practice. The practice problems are
another avenue to understand and become comfortable with statistics problems.
Summative Assessments: An assessment will be given over concepts. The scores on any
assessment may change throughout the year. The assessments contain multiple choice and
free response questions similar to those on the AP exam.
Performance Assessments: We will be performing projects to apply what we are learning
and these will be included in your portfolio. In addition, we will perform projects to help
understand the connections between the different statistical processes. The main purpose
of these projects is to demonstrate or articulate discovery of statistical knowledge and
present this knowledge in a way that demonstrates mastery. The projects will generally
involve a written portion and a presentation.
Summative Cumulative Exam: 1st semesters you will be taking a final exam that will be similar
in design to the real AP Exam you will take in May – there will be a free response section and
a multiple choice section.
Project: The main purpose of cumulative semester project (2nd semester) is to demonstrate
that ability to develop and conduct a statistical study, and then use the data collected to
make sound connections and judgments between the design and the results of the
experiment. There will be an expectation to analyze the collected data and make
inferences. There will be an expectation to complete a written portion to explain your
methods and justify decisions. You will present the project.
The following will be an  plan for the course. The expectation of reading the chapters
outside class is crucial in order to devote time to exploring, investigating, and discussion with
activities instead of straight lecture.
How Long?
Chapters? Concepts/Topics?
1 Week
1, 2
Just a little Introduction!
 What is Statistics and why do we care?
 What is data?
5-6 weeks
3-6
Time to Explore (and Understand) Data
 Describing and displaying
categorical data
 Introductory discussion of independence
 Describing and displaying quantitative data
 Summary statistics for quantitative data
 Outliers
 The normal distribution
 The effect of linear transformations to data sets on
summary statistics
 To include but not limited to: boxplots, dotplots, stem
plots, histograms, frequency plots, and how to use these to
compare different data sets.
6 weeks
7-10
May we Regress (in a linear fashion)???
Analyzing bivariate quantitative data
 Displaying and describing scatterplots
 Correlation and the coefficient
determination
 Least-squares regression
 Slope and y-intercept
 Residuals and residual plots
 Outliers and influential points
Transformations to achieve linearity
of
4-5 weeks
11-13
5-6 Weeks
14-17
What is the best way to collect the data??? (sampling and
experimentation)
 Designing surveys via various methods
 Bias in surveys
 Randomization and representative samples
 Experimental design:
 Control
 Random assignment of treatment
 Replication
 Placebo & blinding
 Blocking and matched pairs
 Confounding and lurking variables
 Statistically significant difference (introduction)
 Observational studies
What are the Chances??? (Probability)
 Basic probability principles including complement,
independence and mutually exclusive
 Simulating probability scenarios
 Addition, multiplication and conditional probability rules
 Random variables:
 Expected value and standard
deviation
 Rules for transforming and
combining random variables
 Binomial and geometric distributions
3-5 days
18
5-6 weeks
19-20
What If I take a bunch of samples???
(sampling distributions)
 Sampling distribution for Proportions
 Sampling distribution for Means
 CLT
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What is the TRUE Proportion???
(Inference for Proportions)
Conceptual ideas behind confidence intervals
Conceptual ideas behind hypothesis tests
Confidence intervals for one and two proportions
Hypothesis testing for one and two proportions
Type I and II errors and power
3 weeks
23-25
What is the TRUE Mean???
(Inference for Means)
 Confidence intervals for one and two means (with t)
 Hypothesis testing for one and two means (with t)
 Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing for
matched pairs means (with t)
2-3 weeks
26-27
What else do you want to know
about the population???
(Inference for Counts and Slope)
Chi-square goodness-of-fit
Chi-square for homogeneity and for independence
Confidence interval for slope
Hypothesis testing for slope
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2-3 weeks
2 weeks
Project
Time
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Multiple Choice Practice Tests
Stats: Modeling the World (BVD)
The Practice of Statistics (YMS)
5 Steps to a 5
Released Exam from College Board
AP Statistics: (REA)
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Free Response Review
Stats: Modeling the World (BVD)
The Practice of Statistics (YMS)
5 Steps to a 5
Released Exams from College Board
AP Statistics: (REA)
Cumulative Project.