Year 13 statistics

We live in a world in which we are flooded with information. It is crucial to be able to analyse and consider the validity of claims before we accept them as truth. Statistics is the study of the collection, organisation, analysis and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments. Virtually every job requires people with statistical knowledge. 

Studying Statistics will develop your critical thinking and analytic skills, enable you to construct, write and critique formal reports. Statistics forms part of many tertiary courses of study. You do not need to have taken statistics at school to study it later, but many Year 13 students do find it useful preparation for their first year course of study.

This course will cover the following topics: 

• Investigate bivariate data

• Make a statistical inference

• Evaluate statistical reports

• Probability concepts

• Probability distributions

• Linear programming

In this course, you will 

carry out investigations of phenomena, using the statistical inquiry cycle :

• using existing data sets and seeking explanations  

• using informed contextual knowledge, exploratory data analysis, and statistical inference

• communicating findings and evaluating all stages of the statistical inquiry cycle  

make inferences from surveys and experiments:  

• determining estimates of the difference in values for two groups 

• use methods such as resampling and simulations to assess the strength of evidence for a claim

Investigate situations that involve elements of chance  

• calculating probabilities of independent, combined, and conditional events 

• calculating and interpreting expected values and standard deviations of discrete random variables  

• applying probability models such as the Poisson, binomial, triangular, uniform and normal distributions

*Confident students have the opportunity to sit for NZ Scholarship.

Note: Students may take the Statistics course as well as the Calculus course but not the Statistics and Mathematics courses, because of the overlap between them.

We recommend this course if you gain 12 credits or more in a Year 12 Mathematics Courses (12MAS, 12MAC, 12MCA or 12MAT). 

For Bivariate Data and Statistical Inference, the internal assessments require critical thinking and strong research skills.  You will write substantial reports for these two topics.  The two Probability topics are more mathematically focused, but to succeed you must think hard about how real-life data compares to theoretical probability estimates. Throughout this course mathematical skills and literacy skills are intertwined.

Entry into the course is subject to HOD approval.

Assessment

We offer six NCEA standards in this course. Three standards are assessed internally and three standards are assessed externally by end-of-year examination.

Full details of the standards offered and assessed are:

91574 v2 (3.2) Apply linear programming methods in solving problems (3 credits - Internal)

91581 v2 (3.9) Investigate bivariate measurement data (4 credits - Internal)

91582 v2 (3.10) Use statistical methods to make a formal inference (4 credits - Internal)

91584 v2 (3.12)W/R Evaluate statistically based reports (4 credits - External)

91585 v2 (3.13) Apply probability concepts in solving problems (4 credits - External)

91586 v2 (3.14) Apply probability distributions in solving problems (4 credits - External)

Note: A casio fx–9750GII graphics calculator is compulsory for this course.

Qualifications:  Credits towards NCEA Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Statistics.

Scholarship statistics

Students will be invited into the Scholarship statistics programme in the middle of Term 1. Regular morning classes start in Term 1, every Tuesday (7:30am – 8:30am) in LC5. Information regarding Scholarship statistics and resources can be found via: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/awards/scholarship/scholarship-subjects/statistics

NZQA Mathematics Subject Resources

http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/subjects/mathematics/levels

School Policy for NCEA Assessment

You should be aware of the school procedures for NCEA assessment.  They can be found on the school website at this link. There you will find answers to frequently asked questions about how NCEA works as well as guidance about how to apply for extensions, reconsiderations or the process for withdrawing from a standard.