Softball

Softball

Pencil and paper
Overview
Using this Resource
Connecting to the Curriculum
Marking Student Responses
Working with Students
Further Resources
This task is about working with measures of data such as mean, median, range, and mode.

The New Zealand team won all their games in the 1996 Softball World Series.

The number of runs they scored in each game was as follows: 

17,  4,  4,  6,  6,  8,  12,  13,  10,  5,  3,  3,  4,  4

 

a)
In how many games did the New Zealand team score
 
 
i)  exactly three runs? __________
 
ii)  more than five runs? __________
 
b)
In what percentage of games did the New Zealand team score less than six runs?
 
__________ %
 
c)
For the 99 runs scored by the New Zealand team, what is the:
 
 
i)  mean (average)? __________
 
ii) range? __________
 
iii) mode? __________
 
iv) median? __________
Task administration: 
This task is completed with pencil and paper only.
Level:
4
Curriculum info: 
Maths, Statistics, Statistical investigations
Keywords: 
data interpretation, mean, median, mode, range, percentages
Description of task: 
Students interpret data presented in raw form to answer questions, calculate a percentage, and calculate a variety of data measures.
Curriculum Links: 
This resource can be used to help to identify students' ability to interpret data, including measures of centrality and spread.
Learning Progression Frameworks
This resource can provide evidence of learning associated with
Statistical investigations, set 5
within the Mathematics Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Read more about the Learning Progressions Frameworks.
Answers/responses: 
 

Y8 (05/1998)
a) i)
ii)		 2
7		 very easy
easy
b)   50 difficult
c) i)
ii)
iii)
iv)		 7 or 7.07 or 7.1
14 or 3 – 17
4
5.5		 difficult
difficult
difficult
very difficult
Diagnostic and formative information: 
  Common error Likely reason
a) ii) 8 Gives number greater than or equal to five runs.
b) 7 Confuses number and percentage.
c) 5 and 6 Confused when median value is between whole numbers.