Objectives
- Students will recognize that the mean of a skewed data set may not be a useful measure of center.
- Students will compare different transformations of univariate data and determine which one is more effective at eliminating skew.
- Students will understand that univariate data can be transformed in order to apply z-scores and inference procedures.
Vocabulary
- exponentiation
- logarithm
- mean
- skew (left and right)
- square root
- symmetric
- univariate data
About the Lesson
This lesson involves square root, logarithmic, square, and exponentiation transformations of skewed univariate data using a given data set.
As a result, students will:
- Look at data that has been transformed using square roots and logarithms and determine which is more effective at reducing skewness in a given distribution.
- Look at data that has been transformed using squares, exponentiation, square roots, and logarithms and determine which is more effective at reducing skewness in a given distribution. Recognize that performing data transformation can eliminate skewness in a distribution, allowing use of the transformed mean and standard deviation in z-scores.