Virginia SOL 6.PS.2.b
The Standard
Determine the effect on measures of center when a single value of a data set is added, removed, or changed.
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will represent the mean as a balance point and determine the effect on statistical measures when a data point is added, removed, or changed.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare the mean, median, and mode before and after one value is added, removed, or replaced. They explain which measures change, how they change, and why.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students correctly calculate the mean, median, and mode for the original and revised data sets. They can predict the direction of change and explain why some measures stay the same.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may assume the mean, median, and mode always change together. They may forget to reorder values before finding the median or use the wrong number of values when recalculating the mean.
How to Assess It
- Give the data set 4, 6, 6, 8, 11. Ask students to change 11 to 16, calculate each measure before and after, and describe what changed.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs number cards 2, 4, 4, 6, 9; have them add, remove, or swap one card and recalculate.
Ask: Can one changed value alter the mean but leave the median and mode unchanged? Defend your answer with a data set.
Play Data Set Switch: teams draw an add, remove, or change card, then earn points by predicting each measure before calculating.
Compare a basketball player's mean, median, and mode after one unusually high-scoring game is added to the season record.
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Printable 6.PS.2.b Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 5.PS.2.b
Describe and determine the mean of a set of data values representing data from a given context as a measure of center.
- 6.PS.2
The student will represent the mean as a balance point and determine the effect on statistical measures when a data point is added, removed, or changed.
- 5.PS.2.c
Describe and determine the median of a set of data values representing data from a given context as a measure of center.
- 5.PS.2.d
Describe and determine the mode of a set of data values representing data from a given context as a measure of center.
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