Skill PracticeGrades 7, 8· 20 min
Mean Absolute Deviation Practice
Practice calculating the Mean Absolute Deviation (MAD) of a data set step-by-step—starting from the mean, to absolute deviations, and finally to the MAD value.
Sleep Patterns: Mean, Median, Range, IQR & Histogram
Students compare the sleep patterns of 7th and 8th graders using real-world data. They calculate mean, median, range, and IQR, then interpret histograms and make informal inferences about group differences. This worksheet supports randomization, so each student may receive different sleep data.
Storyline:
Your school’s health committee is launching a campaign to promote better sleep habits. They’ve collected sleep data from 7th and 8th graders and asked for your help to analyze it.
As a student data analyst, your job is to investigate how much students in each grade are sleeping and whether there’s a real difference between the two groups.
📊 What Students Will Do:
- Analyze real-world sleep data for 7th and 8th grade
- Calculate key statistical measures:
- Mean – the average sleep hours
- Median – the typical sleep value
- Range – how widely sleep hours vary
- IQR (Q3 − Q1) – how consistent most students' sleep patterns are
- Record their results in a structured table
- Compare both groups using dropdowns and written responses
- Interpret side-by-side histograms to visualize distributions
- Make informal inferences about who sleeps more and who is more consistent
🎯 Skills Practiced:
- Measures of center and variability
- Comparative reasoning
- Histogram interpretation
- Informal inference between two populations (7.SP.B)
Learning Objective
Students will compare two populations using measures of center (mean and median) and measures of variability (range and interquartile range). Through analysis of real-world sleep data from 7th and 8th graders, students will draw informal comparative inferences, interpret distribution patterns using histograms, and explain how statistical measures provide insight into group differences and consistency.
Randomization Available
This worksheet supports randomization, which means each student will receive a different set of 12 sleep data points to analyze. The data will vary slightly for each student but will stay mostly within the same range for both 7th and 8th grade groups.
💡 Tip: When assigning this activity to your classroom, you can optionally enable randomization to give each student a unique version of the problems. When you re-assign the same worksheet, each student will get a new set of questions, helping them master the content through repeated practice.
Common Core standards covered
- Statistics & Probability
Informally assess the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions with similar variabilities, measuring the difference between the centers by expressing it as a multiple of a measure of variability. *For example, the mean height of players on the basketball team is 10 cm greater than the mean height of players on the soccer team, about twice the variability (mean absolute deviation) on either team; on a dot plot, the separation between the two distributions of heights is noticeable*.
All 7.SP.B.3 activities → - Statistics & Probability
Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. *For example, decide whether the words in a chapter of a seventh-grade science book are generally longer than the words in a chapter of a fourth-grade science book*.
All 7.SP.B.4 activities → - Statistics & Probability
Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data to investigate patterns of association between two quantities. Describe patterns such as clustering, outliers, positive or negative association, linear association, and nonlinear association.
All 8.SP.A.1 activities →
- Type
- Mini Lab (real-world worksheet)
- Duration
- 15 minutes
- Auto-graded
- Yes
- Randomized per student
- Yes
- Topics
- StatisticsComparing PopulationsInterpreting Data
- Tags
- Real WorldData AnalysisPractice WorksheetStory-BasedGraph-BasedBell RingerHomeworkExit Ticket
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