Download AP Statistics Syllabus

**Note: This syllabus is being resubmitted to reflect changes in textbook resources.
The primary textbook was changed from the third edition to the fourth edition. The
previous syllabus number was 1098396v1.
AP Statistics Syllabus
The course is taught through activities, demonstrations, and discussion among students on a 90-day
block schedule. The focus lies on statistical understanding and effective communication. Students are
grouped together on the first day of the course. These groups change several times throughout the
semester. Students are given reading guides and are expected to read the material before coming to
class. During class time, clarification takes place through teacher-student interaction, student to student
discussion, relevant activities, and practice exercises.
Primary Textbook:
Starnes, Daren, Yates, Dan, and Moore, David. The Practice of Statistics. 4th edition; New York, NY: W.
H. Freeman and Company, 2010.
Supplemental Resources:
Allwood, Michael. Mutliple Choice & Free-Response Questions in Preparation for the AP Statistics
Examination. Brooklyn NY: D & S Marketing Systems, 2012.
Scheaffer, Richard L., et al. Activity Based Statistics. 2nd edition; Emeryville, CA: Key
College Publishing, 2004.
Moore, David S. Statistics: Decisions Through Data. Lexington, MA: COMAP, Inc., 1993.
(Videocassettes)
Annenberg/CPB. Against All Odds: Inside Statistics. 26 30-min. Washington, D.C.: The Annenberg/CPB Collection,
1989. (streamed from Internet via http://www.learner.org )
Bock, David E., Paul F. Velleman and Richard D. DeVeaux. Stats: Modeling the World.
3rd edition; Boston: Pearson/Addison-Wesley, 2009.
Clements, C. Exploring Statistics with Fathom, Version 2. Emeryville, CA: Key Curriculum Press, 2007
Rossman, Allan J., Chance, Beth L., and Lock, Robin H. Workshop Statistics: Discovery with Data
and Fathom. Emeryville, CA: Key College Publishing, 2002.
Hinders, Duane. 5 Steps to a 5: AP Statistics. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004.
Molesky, Jason. Strive for a 5: Preparing for the AP Statistics Examination. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and
Company, 2012.
Technology:
Students are expected to have a calculator with statistical functionality, such as the TI-83, 84, 89, or
Nspire, to use for all homework and assessments throughout the course. In the classroom, a TIemulator and a SmartBoard Interactive White Board are used on a daily basis. A variety of online Java
applets, PowerPoint demonstrations, and websites are used to illustrate course content. Students are
also exposed to computer output from Minitab, JMP, and Fathom when applicable. All students have
access to laptop computers which have Fathom statistical software loaded for use in class. Lastly,
students will have access to download Fathom software for home use.
Projects:
Students are assigned small projects throughout the semester, denoted as Special Problems, to help
assess understanding, connection, and application of statistical concepts. A culminating project is due
after the AP Exam. Students are to prepare a written report for each which includes the following
sections:
 Introduction: where the problem and investigation will be described
 Analysis: where the data is looked at both numerically and graphically utilizing some form of
technology
 Conclusions: where the findings of the investigation are summarized and the questions are
answered
Sample Project:
“Did Starnes Stack His Class? – Comparing Distributions”
“Wording Matters – Response Bias”
Final Project:
Getting Started:
 Choose two similar products to test
 Decide what question you are answering
 Formulate null and alternative hypotheses
 Create a method of tracking consumer preferences
 Collect data
Your presentation should include the following:
 Your data collection method, including a discussion of potential bias
 Exploratory data analysis with appropriate graphical and numerical summaries
 Statistical inference, including appropriate hypothesis test and corresponding confidence interval
 Summary and conclusion, including potential risks to the validity of your results
Other Requirements
 Your presentation should contain no more than 10 slides, including title page.
 Slides should contain only talking points and work required for specific calculations, rather than
sentences and paragraphs of information
Comment [WMY1]: Added details to meet the
requirements of Component 6
Course Outline
Key:
HW—Homework Problems
A—Activity
APFRQ—AP Free Response Questions
AAO-Against All Odds Video Series
SP—Special Problems from Resource Binder
V—Video
WS—Workshop Statistics
Unit
(Time Period)
Chapter 4
Topics
Assignments/Activities
Designing Studies
(8 days)
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Chapter 1
(6 days)
Methods of data collection: surveys,
census, experiment vs. observational
study
Types of sampling: voluntary response,
convenience, simple random sampling,
stratified random sampling
Sources and types of bias in surveys—
wording, undercoverage, and response
bias
Population vs. samples, and random
selection
Characteristics of a well-designed and wellconducted survey
Characteristics of a well-designed and wellconducted experiment
Treatments, control groups, random
assignments, replication
Completely randomized designs
Randomized block designs, including
matched pairs
Sources of bias and confounding (lurking
variables),
Importance of placebo effect, blinding
Experiment Simulations
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Exploring Data
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Display and interpret graphical displays of
data using histograms, dotplots, stem &
leaf plots, and boxplots
Summarize univariate data in terms of
shape, clusters and gaps, center (mean,
median), spread (range, interquartile
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V: AAO, Units 14-17
A: “Random Rectangles”
(Choosing a
Representative Sample,
ESF)
A: “Sit or Stand”
(Comparative Experiment
Design, ESF)
A: Gummy Bears in Space
(Blocking, ESF)
APFRQ: 2007B #3, 2014 #4
HW: 1-11 (odd), 17-25(odd),
27-29, 31-35(odd), 37-42,
45-55(odd), 57, 6389(odd), 91-98, 102-108,
SP: “Did Starnes Stack His
Class?”
A: “V is for Variation” (ABS)
APFRQ: 2012 #3, 2014 #1(a,b)
V: DTD Unit 1, AAO, Units 26,13
TI-83 ES, Activities 1-4
A: “How do the Colors Vary”
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range, standard deviation)
Compare distributions of data in terms of
shapes, clusters and gaps, outliers,
center, and spread
Relationships between categorical data
Marginal and joint frequencies for two-way
tables
Conditional relative frequencies
(segmented bar charts)
Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/NSPIRE
Chapter 2
Modeling Distributions of Data
(6 days)
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Properties of density curves
Properties of the normal distribution
Standard normal distribution
Standard normal calculations (z-scores)
Assess normality through normal
probability plots
Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/NSPIRE
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V: AAO, Units 7-9
APFRQ: 2008, #1, 2011, #1
HW: 1, 5, 9-15(odd), 1923(odd), 31, 33-38, 4159(odd), 63, 65, 66, 68-74
A: Fathom Lab: “Was
Leonardo Correct” (LSRL,
ESF)
V: AAO, Units 10-12
SP: “Olympic Men’s Long
Jump”
TI-83 ES, Activities 5, 7, 8, 11,
12
A: “Matching Scatterplots to
Regression Equations”
(ABS)
APFRQ: 2012 #1, 2014 #6
HW: 1, 5, 7, 11, 13, 14-18,
21, 26, 27-32, 35-53(odd),
54, 56, 58-61,63, 65, 68,
69, 71-78
Chapter 3
Examining Relationships
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(6 days)
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Analyze patterns in scatterplots
Correlation and linearity
Least squares regression line as a model
(extrapolation)
Residual plots, outliers, and influential
points, coefficient of determination
Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/Nspire
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Chapter 5
Probability: What are the Chances?
(6 days)
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Random phenomenon
Probability models, event, probability rules,
finite sample space
Independent events
(variability with M & M
colors)
A: Comparing & Matching
Plots (ABS)
HW: 1-7(odd), 8, 11-25(odd),
27-32, 37-47(odd), 5359(odd), 60, 60-74, 7983(odd), 87-97(odd), 103,
105, 107-110
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V: AAO, Units 18-19
A: “Do You Have Cooties?”
A: “Poker Probabilities”
A: “Simulations”
Probability Review Packet
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Mutually exclusive events
Addition & Multiplication Rules
Conditional Probabilities
Probability Simulations
Chapter 6
Random Variables
(7 days)
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Chapter 7
(5 days)
Discrete random variables and their
probability distributions
Law of large numbers
Mean and standard deviation of a random
variable
Mean and standard deviation for sums and
differences of random variables
Settings for binomial and geometric
distributions
Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/NSPIRE
Sampling Distributions
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Sampling distributions
Sampling variability
Describing distributions
Bias vs. variability
Sample Proportions
Sample Means
Central Limit Theorem
Simulation of sampling distribution
APFRQ: 2003B #2, 2009B #2
HW: 1, 3, 7, 9, 11, 15, 17, 19,
23-31(odd), 32-36, 4355(odd), 57-60, 6369(odd), 73-99(odd)
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V: AAO, Units 20-21
A: Activity 6 (T)
HW: “Random Variables” WS
HW: “Binomial & Geometric
Distributions” WS
APFRQ: 2013 #3, 2010 #4
HW: 1, 5, 7, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19,
23, 25, 27-30, 37, 39-41,
43, 45, 49, 51, 57-59, 6189(odd), 93-99(odd), 101103
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Calculate and interpret confidence intervals 
Margin of error
Choosing sample size
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The t-distribution (degrees of freedom)
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Single sample t-procedures (conditions) for 
confidence intervals and significance
testing
Matched pairs t-procedures
Robustness
Chapter 8
Estimating with Confidence
(6 days)
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A: Activity 7A (T)
A: “German Tank Problem”
V: AAO, Unit 22
A: Sampling Goldfish
APFRQ: 2010 #2,
HW: 1-13(odd), 17-20, 21-24,
27, 29, 33, 35, 37, 41, 4336, 49-63(odd), 65-68
A: Activity : “A Little Tacky”
V: AAO, Unit 24
A: TI-83 Power
Demonstration
SP: “Pineapple Problem”
APFRQ: 2010 #3, 2013 #1
HW: 5-13(odd), 17, 19-24,
27, 31-37(odd), 41, 43,
47, 49-52, 55, 59, 63, 65,
67, 71, 73, 75-78
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Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/NSPIRE
Chapter 9
Testing a Claim
(4 days)
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Logic of significance testing: null and
alternative hypotheses, test statistic, pvalue, statistical significance,
interpretations, and conclusions
Fixed levels of significance
t-test for population mean
z-test for population proportion
Type I and Type II error
Power of a test
Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/NSPIRE
Chapter 10
Comparing Two Populations or Groups
(4 days)
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Chapter 11
(3 days)
Chapter 12
2-sample t-procedures (conditions) for
confidence intervals and significance
testing
Z-procedure (conditions) for population
proportion (single sample and 2
sample)
Estimating sample size
Inference for Tables
  2 test for goodness of fit and
independence
 Degrees of freedom
 Simulation using  2 procedures
 Calculator techniques for the TI83/84/89/NSPIRE/Nspire
Inference for Regression & Nonlinear
Regression
(4 days)
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The regression model
Assumptions for regression inference
Confidence intervals and significance
testing for the slope and regression
model
Nonlinear regression models
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V: AAO, Units 25-26
APFRQ: 2012 #5, 201
HW: 1-15(odd), 19-25(odd),
27-30, 41-55(odd), 57-60,
71, 73
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V: AAO, Unit 27
APFRQ: 2014 #5
HW: 1-17(odd), 12, 23, 2932, 35-45(odd), 51, 53,
57, 59, 65, 67-70
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A: Activity: “I Don’t Have
Enough Blues”
APFRQ: 2010 #6
HW: 1-11(odd), 17, 19-22,
27-35(odd), 43, 45, 49,
51, 53-58
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A: Activity: Balloons in Flight
APFRQ: 2014 #6, 2010B #6
HW: 1-19(odd), 21-26, 3341(odd), 45-48
AP Exam
Review
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Model Exams from various resources
Released Exams from College Board
(10 days)
After the Exam
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(2 days)
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Additional topics—ANOVA (time
permitting)
Final Project and Presentations