Amanda Jackson

Devin Dunn
Math 1040
Aurora Jensen
Skittles Project
Throughout the semester Devin and I will be putting together a Skittles project. We have each recorded
data contained in a 2.17 ounce bag of skittles. We will take data gathered from our class and put it
together in charts and graphs demonstrating what we have learned over the course of the semester.

Data Collection
Each student in the class will purchase one 2.17-ounce bag of Original Skittles and record the following
data:
Number of
red candies

Number of

Number of

Number of

Number of

orange candies

yellow candies

green candies

purple candies

17

11

10

15

Categorical Data: Colors

The pie chart and Pareto chart do reflect what I would expect to see in a relatively small sample
size of 25 bags of skittles. There is a 4.3 percent difference between the high color (orange) and the low
color (yellow). That isnt a huge range for such a small sample size. My personal bag of skittles also has a
high color of orange and a low of yellow. It closely reflects the total numbers from the class for the most
part.

Quantitative Data: the Number of Candies per Bag

Total number of bags=25, Total number of candies=1496

Mean = 59.8, Standard Dev. = 2.90, Min=53, Q1=59, Median=60, Q3=61, Max=68

The data reflects what you would expect to see. The shape is close to normal. There is a
nice bell shape. This data somewhat reflects my personal bag of skittles. My total number of
skittles was 52, which is two candies away from the mean. As far as the data in the rest of class it
appears my bag was slightly on the high end of the spectrum.
In reflection: Categorical data is not quantifiable. You are dealing with names and labels
rather than quantifiable numbers. Quantifiable data is just that, quantifiable. It has an amount, a
range and a value. For categorical data, Pareto charts and pie charts make sense because you are
using labels rather than quantities. For quantifiable data box plots and frequency tables make
sense because you are using data that has numerical value. For categorical data mean and
median doesnt make any sense. Mode makes more sense. For quantifiable data, mean and
median are far more useful.

Confidence Interval Estimates

A confidence interval is the range of values used to estimate the true value of a population
parameter.
Construct a 95% confidence interval estimate for the true proportion of purple candies.
[0.188<p<0.224]
Construct a 99% confidence interval estimate for the true mean number of candies per bag.
[58.3483<Mu<61.3317]
Construct a 98% confidence interval estimate for the standard deviation of the number of candies
per bag.
[3.615<sigma<7.972]
I did all the calculations on Ti-83. Therefore there was nothing to scan.
Hypothesis Tests
A hypothesis test takes two mutually exclusive claims about a population and tests the claims
with a sample. It is a way to prove your hypothesis is right or wrong.
Use a 0.01 significance level to test the claim that 20% of all Skittles candies are green.
H0:=.20 HA:(doesnt equal).20 P=.7077 Z=.3749
Fail to reject the claim that H0 equals .20 population proportion.
Use a 0.05 significance level to test the claim that the mean number of candies in a bag of
Skittles is 56.
H0:Mu=56 HA:Mu(doesnt equal)56 P=0.0000 T=10.3177

Reject H0. Reject the claim that the mean number of candies in a bag of Skittles is 56
Devin did all the work for these tests on TI-83 so there was nothing to write or scan other than
the results of our calculations which are included above.
Confidence Interval population
1. The sample is a simple random sample.

2. The conditions for the binomial distribution are satisfied: there is a fixed number of trials, the
trials are independent, there are two categories of outcomes, and the probabilities remain
constant for each trial.
3. There are at least 5 successes and 5 failures.
It is debatable whether our sample met these conditions
Hypothesis Test Population

1) The sample observations are a simple random sample.

2) The conditions for a binomial distribution are satisfied.
3)The conditions np 5 and nq 5 are both satisfied, so the binomial
distribution of sample proportions can be approximated by a normal distribut
ion with = np and
It is debatable whether or not our sample met these conditions
Confidence Interval Mean
The procedure we use has a requirement that the population is normally distributed or the sample
size is greater than 30.
Yes our sample met these conditions

Hypothesis Test Mean

1)The sample is a simple random sample.
2)Either or both of these conditions is satisfied: The population is normally distributed or n > 30.
Yes our sample met these conditions

Confidence Interval Standard Dev.

1. The sample is a simple random sample.

2. The population must have normally distributed values (even if the sample is large).
Yes our sample met these conditions
Hypothesis Test Standard Dev.

1. The sample is a simple random sample.

2. The population has a normal distribution.
Yes, our sample met these conditions

Did our sample satisfy all of these requirements? Our sample was a simple random sample of 25
bags of skittles. The distribution is close to a normal curve. Since our sample is less than 30 but
close to normally distributed it is debatable whether it satisfies all the requirements for all of the
tests. Things that could have been done to improve our sample and to minimize errors would be:
Have the skittles all in the same room. Multiple people counting them to make sure there are no

errors. Have at least 30 bags of skittles bought from different places in the state. Divide them all
up together to lessen chance of errors.

Bibliography:Tiola, Mario F.Elementary Statistics. 12th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2014. 1-822.