AP Stats Preliminary Terms

Question 1

Observational Unit

Answer 1

the individual people, objects, or actions that are observed to collect data

Question 1

Data

Answer 1

measurements, numbers, or categories that are recorded from individual Observational Units

Question 2

Variables

Answer 2

characteristic(s) of interest from the OU’s that will be recorded

Question 3

Distribution

Answer 3

All the options that happen for a variable and how often those options happen
Often shown as a visual summary of the distribution

Question 5

Population

Answer 5

the entire set of OU’s that exist
there are specific # of OU’s in a population, although the population size is often unknown
example: all HCHS students

Question 6

Process

Answer 6

situation with an endless series of potential observations
Usually repeated observations from one object or person
Examples: coin flips, dice rolls, Old Faithful eruptions, 100m dash times for an individual

Question 7

Random Process

Answer 7

a process when where individual outcomes are not able to be known ahead of time

Question 8

Probability

Answer 8

Long-run proportion of “success”
“long-run” = if process is repeated many, many times
“success” = outcome of interest

Question 9

Model

Answer 9

a simplified version of reality that allows for mathematical study

Question 10

Simulate

Answer 10

use a model to re-create a random process of interest

Question 11

Standard Deviation

Answer 11

the typical distance data values fall from the center of their distribution for quantitative data
a measure of spread / variability

Question 12

Quantitive Variable

Answer 12

the characteristic of interest recorded from the OU’s are measurements or numbers with numerical meaning
not just number-based labels like zip codes or social security numbers
easy check – is the average value summarize something meaningful?

Question 13

Categorical Variable

Answer 13

the characteristic of interest recorded from the OU’s are categories, labels, words, or groups