Nspired CAS and Statistics

CHRIS HARROW
HAWKEN SCHOOL
HTTP://CASMUSINGS.WORDPRESS.COM/
CASMUSINGS@GMAIL.COM
CDHARR@HAWKEN.EDU
@CHRIS_HARROW

http://bit.ly/Harrow-T3-2015

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

Philosophical Goals for my class

Eliminate Tables
Minimize Tools
Maximize Depth, Understanding, &
Flexibility

PHILOSOPHY

CAS Technology

Think in terms of functions

Algebraic manipulations arent central.
Keep focus on the problem not the
computations.

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

WHAT IS A

Least Squares Line

Many people perform linear

regressions on data without ever

considering what is happening.

LINEAR
REGRESSION?

Click here to
Download LinReg File

I initially wrote this for an Honors

Algebra 2 course to explain this

line WITHOUT Calculus
http://bit.ly/LinReg_Derivation

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

Binomial Probabilities:

n!
n Cr
n r !r!

ENHANCING
BINOMIAL
PROBABILITIES

Combinatorics can be complicated:

nCr() Command can give single values

or lists

Binomial Probabilities:
Nspired CAS
and Statistics

Binomial formula important for

derivation and understanding, but not
for practical use.
CAS expand() command

What do a, b, and n represent?

Better yet, the Nspire allows open

variable names (no spaces)

ENHANCING
BINOMIAL

expand ( a b) n

PROBABILITIES

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

ENHANCING
BINOMIAL
PROBABILITIES

Two fair eight-sided dice (the faces

are labeled 1-8) are tossed at once.
What is the probability that at least
one of them shows 7?

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

CAS Insight #2:

Change the coefficients!

ENHANCING
BINOMIAL
PROBABILITIES

VISUAL understanding, not just

polynomial
See the entire sample space/pdf at once

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

ENHANCING
BINOMIAL
PROBABILITIES

With Nspire power, you can

approach this several ways with

summations.

Nspired CAS
and Statistics
NORMAL
PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS

DECREASING

Computing normal distribution areas

To use a table of values for normal

scores, you need to convert nonstandard information into z-scores.

The Nspire makes that irrelevant:

Normcdf(lower, upper [, mean, st.dev])

EMPHASIS ON
z-SCORES

z-scores are important, they just

arent THAT critical

We no longer use root or trig tables

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

NORMAL
PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS

Computing normal distribution area

Under given testing conditions, a golf

ball legal for tournament play may not
travel more than 300 yards.
Manufacturers want balls that will travel
as close to the 300 yards without
exceeding that distance. One
manufacturer determined the distances
traveled for its golf balls are normally
distributed with a mean of 295 yards
and a standard deviation of 3 yards.
What is the probability a random ball
will travel too far?

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

NORMAL
PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS

Computing normal distribution area

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

NORMAL
PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS

Now assume the manufacturing

process can control the mean

distance traveled. What mean
should it use so that no more than
1% of the golf balls travel more than
300 yards?

Theres a time for invNorm()

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

Computing normal distribution

area
This is area under a curve.

NORMAL

Differentiate instruction.

PROBABILITY
DISTRIBUTIONS

For calculus students in class,

mention integrals to reinforce.

Nspired CAS
and Statistics
WHAT IS A
CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL?

HOW CAN YOU

COMPUTE ONE?

The mean lead level of 35 crows

in a random sample from a region

was 4.90 ppm and the standard
deviation was 1.12 ppm.
Construct a 95 percent confidence
interval for the mean lead level of
crows in the region.

You can get this through a black-box

confidence z-interval command

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

Emphasize understanding

Continue to use normCdf()

invNorm() variation

WHAT IS A
CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL?

HOW CAN YOU

COMPUTE ONE?

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

Emphasize understanding

Clever variation from a student due to

CAS/Nspire familiarity with lists

Equivalent approach using normCdf

doesnt work:

Be flexible, adapt.

WHAT IS A
CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL?

HOW CAN YOU

COMPUTE ONE?

Nspired CAS
and Statistics
HOW CAN YOU
COMPUTE ONE?

GRAPHICAL
VARIATION

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

MULTIPLE
APPROACHES
TO FINDING
MINIMAL
SAMPLE SIZES

You run the safety division of a car

manufacturer and have a budget large

enough to run 120 stopping distance
tests on a new vehicle for which it has
been determined that =12 feet. Can
you estimate the mean stopping
distance to within 2 feet of the true
mean stopping distance with 95%
confidence?

Distance approach (z-scores do matter)

Distance=(num. of s.d.s)(size of s.d.)=

z x

The mean is irrelevant. Re-centering a

normal distribution doesnt change its shape.

Assume different means and use your CAS:

Nspired CAS
and Statistics

MULTIPLE
APPROACHES
TO FINDING
MINIMAL
SAMPLE SIZES