What is the Average Height of Your Class?

Statistics Canada is sponsoring this simple Internet exercise to reinforce lessons on measurement (specifically height), data analysis, measures of central tendency, graphing and self-concept.

Instructions:

1. Enter the number of boys and girls in your class. If there are no boys or girls in your class, please type zero in the appropriate field.
2. Click the "Generate form" button.
   The system will generate a form with the correct number of data entry fields.

How many students are in your class?

You could use the results to:

• compare the response you get to hand calculated results for mean, median and mode;
• discuss components of bar graphs and why this type of graph is suitable for this type of data;
• submit data again, estimating heights for absent students or omitting some of the data to see the effect on the class mean, median and mode.
• Repeat the exercise periodically (January and June) and compare to previous results.

Other graphing activities

• Create your own graph
• Graphing in the Information Age.

Please e-mail comments or examples of how you used this exercise in your class.