AP® Statistics Syllabus
Course Design
AP Statistics is a course instructed through discovery and technology to develop a broad understanding and
connection among four major fundamental concepts: experimental design, exploration and presentation of data,
anticipated patterns, and drawing conclusions through the process of inferential statistics. It is important to note that
the course will provide a careful balance between the use of technology and written expression. By the beginning of
the month of May, students should be prepared to take and pass the AP Statistics exam.
Primary Textbook
Peck, Roxy, Chris Olsen, and Jay Devore. Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis, first edition. Pacific Grove,
CA: Brooks/Cole, 2001
Additional Textbook Resources
Mason, Robert D., Douglas A. Lind, and William G. Marchal. Statistical Techniques in Business and Economics,
eleventh edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2002
Yates, Daniel S., David S. Moore, and Daren S. Starnes. The Practice of Statistics, second edition, New York, NY:
W. H. Freeman and Company, 2002
McKenzie, John, Robert L. Schaefer, and Elizabeth Farber. The Student Edition of Minitab for Windows, Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1995
Technology
All students are required to own and use a Texas Instruments TI-83, TI-83 plus or a TI-84 graphing calculator. An
instructor’s TI-83 plus overhead projection unit is used in the classroom to supplement calculator instruction.
All students are required to use Minitab for Windows statistical software. This software package is owned by our
school and can be used in any of our four computer laboratories. For three weeks following the AP Statistics exam,
students are required to produce a major statistical project using both Minitab and Microsoft Word.
The internet is used to great extent in this course as a data resource. Students are asked to find relevant data for
statistical applications on an ongoing basis.
Course Outline
The course is organized through the chapters in the primary textbook. Each Friday and the entire three weeks
following the AP exam, the course meets in the computer lab to work on a statistical project using Minitab statistical
software.
Quarter 1 (Nine Weeks)
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Course Content
Student Assessment
Course Content and Assessment
The Role of Statistics
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Three Reasons to Study Statistics
Statistics and Data Analysis
The Nature and Role of Variability
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Quiz 1 (two free response questions on
chapter readings)
Test 1 (25 multiple choice, two free
response questions)
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Required Topics Covered
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Homework 1-1(Determine if your college
of choice accepts AP Stats credit. Show
proper internet documentation)
Data Analysis Process and Collecting Data
Sensibly
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Levels of Measurement
Types of Data
The Data Analysis Process
Collecting Data Sensibly: Observation and
Experimentation
Sampling/Types of Samples
Bias
Simple Comparative Experiments
Introduction to Minitab
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Quiz 2 (three free response questions on
chapter 2 readings.)
 Quiz 3 (two free response questions on
blood pressure sampling and selection
bias)
 Partner Quiz (class observational study
simulation through sample surveys)
 Test 2 (25 multiple choice, one bias free
response question , two experimental
design free response questions )
 Homework 1-2 (Peck pp. 14-15 #1-7)
 Homework 1-3 (Peck pp. 26-27 #10 – 20
and pp. 35-35 #24 &26)
Graphical Methods for Describing Data
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Displaying Categorical Data
Displaying Numerical Data
Interpreting Results of Statistical Analyses
Minitab Graphing Explorations
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Quiz 4 (class simulation survey with boxplot and dot-plot)
Test 3 (25 multiple choice, four free
response questions with written
descriptions)
Homework 1-4 (Peck pp. 54-56 #2-10)
Homework 1-5 (Peck pp. 62-64 #12-20
and pp. 88-89 #40 and 51)
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Numerical Methods for Describing Data
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Measures of Central Tendency
Measures of Variability
Grouped Measures of Central Tendency
and Variability
Boxplots
Interpreting Center and Variability:
Planning a Study:
 Methods of data collection (census,
sample survey, experiment, and
observational study)
 Planning and conducting surveys
(characteristics of a well-designed and
well-conducted survey, random selection,
sources of bias, types of sampling)
 Planning and conducting experiments
(characteristics, treatment, blocking, direct
control, replication randomization,
placebos, blinding, matched-pair design,
flowcharts)
 Generalizing results from observational
studies, experiments and surveys.
Exploring Data:
 Interpreting graphical displays of
distributions of univariate data
(constructing dotplots, stem-and-leaf plots,
histograms, ogives, bar charts and pie
charts)
 Investigating center and spread of data,
outliers, distribution shapes and unusual
features
 Comparing distributions of univariate
data (comparing center and spread, gaps,
clusters outliers and shapes between two
groups)
 Exploring categorical data: frequency
tables (marginal and joint frequencies for
two-way tables, conditional relative
frequencies and association)
Exploring Data:
 Summarizing distributions of univariate
data (measures of central tendency,
measures of variability, measures of
position including quartiles, deciles
percentiles and z-scores, graphing and
interpreting boxplots, changing units of
summary measure)
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Chebyshev’s Rule, the Empirical Rule, and
z-scores
Minitab Descriptive Statistics Explorations
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Comparing distributions of univariate
data (constructing and interpreting parallel
boxplots, comparing measures of central
tendency and variability)
Quiz 5 (two free response questions on
chapter 4 readings)
Quiz 6 (one free response question on
measures of central tendency)
Quiz 7 (two free response questions on
grouped data and measures of central
tendency)
Test 4 (25 multiple choice, four free
response questions focusing on the written
interpretation of results)
Homework 1-6 (Peck pp. 79-83 #20-34)
Homework 1-7 (Peck pp. 110-112 #2-18
and pp. 120-121 #20-26)
Homework 1-8 (Peck pp. 125-126 #30-34
and pp.133-134 #36-44 even)
Computer Quiz 1 (box-plots)
Quarter 2 (Nine weeks)
Course Content
Summarizing Bivariate Data
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Scatter Plots
Pearson’s Sample Correlation Coefficient
Fitting a Line to Bivariate Data
(Regression Analysis and Coefficient of
Determination)
Assessing the Fit of a Line
Nonlinear Relationships and
Transformations
Minitab Bivariate Data Explorations
Quiz 8 (two free response questions on
chapter 5 readings)
Quiz 9 (one free response question on
Pearson’s sample correlation coefficient
with written interpretation of the
coefficient of determination)
Quiz 10 (one free response question on
non-linear regression)
Test 5 (20 multiple choice, three free
response questions)
Homework 2-1 (Peck pp. 150-151 #4 & 6
and pp. 163-165 #10-20)
Homework 2-2 (Peck pp. 174-176 #26-34
and pp. 188-190 #38, 42 and 44. Detailed
explanations are required for most
problems)
Homework 2-3 (Peck pp. 206-207 #52-58
even)
Required Topics Covered
Exploring Data:
 Exploring bivariate data (constructing
and analyzing patterns in scatterplots,
Pearson’ sample correlation coefficient,
coefficient of determination, linearity, least
squares regression line, non-linear
transformations including quadratic, cubic,
quartic, logarithmic, exponential and
power)
Probability
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Chance Experiments and Events
The Definition of Probability
Basic Properties of Probability
Permutations and Combinations
Conditional Probability
Independence
Probability Rules and Bayes’ Theorem
Classroom Probability Simulations
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Quiz 11 (two free response question on
chapter 6 readings)
Quiz 12 (one free response question on
conditional probability)
Quiz 13 (one free response question on
Bayes’ Theorem)
Simulation Quiz (classroom simulation
with dice of various sides, rolling pairs and
relating to geometric distributions)
Test 6 (25 multiple choice, five free
response questions)
Homework 2-4 (Peck p. 233 #3, 5-10)
Homework 2-5 (Peck pp. 248-250 #14-20;
p. 259 #32 &34; pp. 268-269 #36-44)
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Random Variables and Probability Distributions
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Random Variables
Probability Distributions for Discrete
Random Variables
Probability Distributions for Continuous
Random Variables
The Mean and Standard Deviation of a
Random Variable
Binomial, Poisson and Geometric
Distributions
Normal Distributions
Checking for Normality and Normalizing
Transformations
Classroom Probability Simulations
Minitab Probability Distribution
Explorations
Anticipating Patterns:
 Probability as relative frequency(Law of
Large Numbers, addition rule,
multiplication rule, conditional probability
and independence
Anticipating Patterns:
 Probability as a relative frequency
(discrete random variables and their
probability distributions, simulation of
binomial and geometric distributions, mean
and standard deviation of a random
variable and linear transformation of a
random variable)
 Combing independent random variables
(notion of independence versus
dependence, mean and standard deviation
for sums and differences of independent
random variables)
 The normal distribution (properties,
tables, models for measurement)
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Quiz 13 (two free response question on
random variables)
 Test 7 (20 multiple choice, five free
response questions)
 Homework 2-6 (Peck pp. 314-315 #8-18)
 Homework 2-7 (Peck pp. 333-335 #28-38;
pp. 345-346 #46-54)
Sampling Variability and Sampling Distributions
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Statistics and Sampling Variability
Anticipating Patterns:
 Sampling distributions (sample
proportion, sample mean, Central Limit
Theorem, difference between two
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The Sampling Distribution of a Sample
Mean
The Sampling Distribution of a Sample
Proportion
Minitab Sampling Distribution
Explorations
Central Limit Theorem “Penny Project”
independent sample proportions, difference
between two independent sample means,
simulation of sampling distributions)
Penny Project (Each student receives 100
pennies. He records the age, plots the age
on a class dot-plot, finds the mean age and
sample standard deviation of n=100
pennies and then again for n=5 randomly
selected pennies. The global/classroom
mean and standard deviation are
calculated. The student then must
summarize his findings and comment on
the findings and the relationship with the
Central Limit Theorem.)
Test 8 (25 multiple choice, three free
response questions)
Homework 2-8 (Peck pp. 420-421 #15-25)
Quarter 3 (Nine Weeks)
Course Content
Estimation Using a Single Sample
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Point Estimates
Large Sample Confidence Interval for a
Population Proportion
Confidence Interval for a Population Mean
Minitab Confidence Interval Explorations
Required Topics Covered
Statistical Inference:
 Confidence Intervals (meaning of a
confidence interval, large sample
confidence interval for a proportion, large
sample confidence interval for a mean)
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Quiz 14 (one free response C.I.)
Test 9 (25 multiple choice, three free
response questions. Close attention is paid
to written interpretation.)
 Homework 3-1 (Peck pp. 453-454 #14-24.
Complete 5-step Confidence Intervals for
each problem.)
Hypothesis Testing Using a Single Sample
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Hypothesis and Test Procedures
Errors in Hypothesis Testing
Large-Sample Hypothesis Tests for a
Population Proportion
Hypothesis Tests for a Population Mean
Power and Probability of a Type II Error
Minitab Hypothesis Testing Explorations
Quiz 15 (two free response questions on
type I & II errors)
Quiz 16 (one free response question on 1-
Statistical Inference:
 Tests of Significance (logic of testing, null
and alternate hypotheses, p-values, and two
sided tests, concepts of type I and type II
errors, concept of power, large sample test
for a proportion, large sample test for a
mean)
 Special case of normally distributed data
(t-distribution, single sample t-procedures)
sample t hypothesis test for μ)
Test 10 (five free response questions)
Homework 3-2 (Peck p. 486 #34,35,39
&45; p. 481 #1-5; p.486 #10, 11)
 Homework 3-3 (Peck pp.501-502 #26-32.
Complete 9-step hypothesis testing for
each problem.)
 Homework 3-4 (Peck pp. 514-515 #46-53.
Complete 9-step hypothesis testing for
each problem.)
Comparing Two Populations or Treatments
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Inferences Concerning the Difference
between Two Population or Treatment
Means Using Independent Samples
Inferences Concerning the Difference
between Two Population or Treatment
Means Using Paired Samples
Large-Sample Inferences Concerning a
Difference between Two Population or
Treatment Proportions
Quiz 17 (one free response question on 2
sample t test for μ.)
Quiz 18 (one free response question on the
paired t test.)
Test 11 (five free response questions with
an emphasis on written interpretation of
conditions and conclusions of 2-sample
tests.)
Homework 3-5 (Peck pp.549-553 #2-7, 11,
16, 18 & 21. Complete 9-step hypothesis
tests for each problem.)
Homework 3-6 (Peck pp. 564-566 #34, 37,
38 &40. Complete 5-step confidence
intervals for each problem.)
The Analysis of Categorical Data and Goodnessof Fit Tests
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Chi-squared Tests for Univariate
Categorical Data
Tests for Homogeneity and Independence
in a Two-way Table
Classroom Chi-squared simulation
(Skittles and Goldfish)
Quiz 19 (one free response question on a
goodness-of-fit test)
Skittles Project (Goodness-of-fit
simulation with a bag of Skittles.)
Test 12 (four free response questions with
emphasis on not only x2 test, but also the
conditions in which each can be used.)
Homework 3-8 (Peck pp. 622 #1-2 & 15-
Statistical Inference:
 Confidence Intervals (large sample
confidence interval for a difference
between two proportions)
 Tests of significance (large sample
confidence interval for a difference
between two means, both paired and
unpaired, large sample test for a difference
between two proportions, large sample test
for a difference between two means, both
unpaired and paired)
 Special case of normally distributed data
(two sample t-procedures)
Statistical Inference:
 Test of Significance (chi-squared test for
goodness-of-fit, homogeneity of
proportions and independence in one and
two-way tables)
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19)
Homework 3-9 (Data collection for spring
project)
Minitab Contingency Table Explorations
Quarter 4 (Eight Weeks)
Course Content
Simple Linear Regression and Correlation:
Inferential Methods
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The Simple Linear Regression Model
Inferences Concerning the Slope of the
Population Regression Line
Inferences Based on the Estimated
Regression Line
Inferences about the Population
Correlation Coefficient
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Quiz 20 (one free response question on
linear regression review)
 Quiz 21 (one free response question on 1sample t hypothesis test for β)
 Test 13 (25 multiple choice and three free
response questions)
 Homework 4-1 (Peck pp.658-659 #12-23)
 Homework 4-2 (Peck pp. 671-672 #27-31)
Practice AP Statistics Tests/Course Review
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Practice “old” free response questions.
Students swap papers and grade according
to the College Board rubric
Practice AP Test in “real time”. Given in
parts over 5 school days. Free responses
are swapped and graded by students based
on the College Board rubric.
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Free Response Quiz (2 of the 5 for a grade)
Practice AP Test
Homework 4-3 (List all hypothesis with
matching assumptions and test statistics
formula.)
 Homework 4-4 (Create and solve two
statistical problems assigned by SRS to be
used in class study packet.)
Advanced Placement Exam
Statistical Project
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Observational Study or Experiment in any
appropriate topic of interest. Students
must clearly show: experimental or
observational design process; raw data
collection that includes at least 30
observations of at least 3 numerical and 2
categorical measures; an introduction that
Required Topics Covered
Statistical Inference:
 Special case of normally distributed data
(inference for the slope of least-squares
regression line)
includes a theme and
hypothesis/hypotheses; measures of central
tendency with written descriptions;
graphical representations using all data
collected (at least five different graphs)
with written interpretations; linear
regression (if applicable); numerical and/or
categorical hypothesis testing that includes
a confidence interval; a conclusion that
draws all aspects of the statistical process,
including but not limited to design,
analysis and conclusions.
Assessment
Tests are given at the completion of each chapter/unit. Quizzes are usually given weekly. Homework is assigned
and collected each Monday as a weekly packet. Computer assignments are graded as quizzes with the exception of
the final project, which is a test grade.
Most tests are designed to closely follow the AP exam format: 50% multiple-choice, 50% free response and always
valued at 100 points. Quizzes are smaller in scope than tests: one or two free response questions or a classroom
simulation ranging from 10 to 25 points. Homework is assigned from each section of the textbook with
approximately 20 to 30 problems assigned per week. Homework is assessed using a 3 point rubric.
On a daily basis, students are encouraged to effectively communicate relationships among statistical methods,
results and conclusions in a written format. Often students are asked “how” or “why” when explaining the nature of
data. A strong emphasis is placed on the appropriate use of statistical vocabulary when validating hypotheses.
Moreover, reinforcement is placed on neat and organized written and graphical work. They are required to draw
connections of their statistical knowledge in situational context (often in-class simulations) from design to numerical
and graphical interpretation to analysis and conclusion using complete, grammatically correct sentences. The
purpose of the spring statistics project is to draw these connections together from a unique data set determined and
collected by each student. The project requires students to validate statistical relationships through written
expression from experimental design to conclusion.
In class, we often use statistical simulations that provide students with “hands on” experiences.
Simulations range from simple in-class surveys to marble and dice games to a 100 penny project to sampling
Goldfish crackers. With all simulations, students are asked to discover the true nature between the data used and the
conclusions that can be drawn from the design and summary of data.
Quarter and Semester grades are calculated using the following parameters:
Quarter Grades:
Tests
Quizzes
25%
Written Assignments
40%
15%
Semester Grades:
Quarter 1 or 3
Quarter 2 or 4
Semester Exam 20%
40%
40%