STATISTICS AND

PROBABILITY
MODULE 1: INTRODUCTION
TO STATISTICS
STATISTICS
In a singular sense, Statistics is a science that deals with the collection, organization,
presentation, analysis and interpretation of data

Example:

To evaluate the performance of SHS students of the Laguna College, the final grade of the
students were collected, summarized and presented for analysis and interpretation.

In plural sense, Statistics is an actual number derived from the data. It is a collection of
facts and figures, or processed data.

Example:

Total number of ESC grantees enjoying benefits from the government; number of
registered SHS students this semester,; different occupation held by Filipinos
TWO BROAD CATEGORIES OF STATISTICS

Descriptive Statistics

 Used to describe a mass of data in a clear, concise and informative way

 Deals with the methods of organizing, summarizing and presenting data.

Example:

1. The average grade in General Mathematics of Grade 11 students is 88.

2. The National Statistics Office (NSO) presented the Philippine population by

age group and gender using a graph
TWO BROAD CATEGORIES OF STATISTICS

Inferential Statistics

 Concerned with making generalizations about the characteristics of a larger set where
only a part is examined.

Example:

1. A new milk formulation to improve the psychomotor development of infants was

tested on randomly selected infants. Based on the results, it was concluded that
the new milk formulation is effective in improving the psychomotor
development of infants.

2. It is expected that the unemployment rate will increase 10% this year.
BASIC TERMINOLOGIES

Universe

 A collection or set of all individuals or entities whose characteristics are to be

studied;

 Answer the question “who or what entities do you want to study?”

Variable

 Attribute or characteristic of interest measurable on each and every unit of the

universe;

 Answer the question “what do you want to know about the entities?”
BASIC TERMINOLOGIES

Population
 Set of all possible values of the variable

Sample
 Subset of the population or universe.

Example: Suppose we are interested in the average height of all SHS students enrolled this semester

Universe: set of all SHS students enrolled this semester

Variable: height of SHS students enrolled this semester

Population: set consisting of the height of all SHS students enrolled this sem
TYPES OF VARIABLE

Qualitative

 Assume values that are not numerical but can be categorized

 Categories may be identified by either non-numerical descriptions or by numeric

codes

Example:

1. Gender
2. Civil Status
3. Religious Affiliation
4. Telephone Numbers
TYPES OF VARIABLE

Quantitative

 Indicates the quantity or amount of a characteristic.

Discrete – variable with a finite or Continuous – variable that assumes any

countable number of possible values value in a given interval

1. Household size 1. Weight

2. Number of students in a class 2. Height
3. Number of subjects enrolled 3. Monthly Expenses
LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT: NOMINAL

In this level of measurement, the numbers in the variable are used only to classify the data.
In this level of measurement, words, letters, and alpha-numeric symbols can be used.
These are only categories or classifications.
The first and lowest level of measurement is the nominal level. None of the mathematical
operations can be applied on variables under this level since the values are just symbols or
labels. Ordering of values is also not possible in this level.

A nominal scale denotes a qualitative attribute of the variable.

Examples:
Gender (either male or female)
Religion (Catholic, Protestant, Islam, etc)
Favourite movie genre (Romance, Comedy, Horror, etc.)
LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT: ORDINAL
Refers to the order or rank of a measurement.

The second level of measurement is the ordinal level. Values of variables with this level are
also symbols with implicit ordering but still difference between two values cannot be
determined. Mathematical operations are also not allowed in this level.

Examples: job position, size of t-shirt (S, M, L, XL)

LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT: INTERVAL
Numerical scales in which exact difference between two values is known.

The third level of measurement is the interval level. Some quantitative variables have this
level of measurement and the distance between any two values can be determined. Moreover,
the zero point in this level is arbitrary which means that the zero point does not imply absence
of an attribute. Addition and subtraction are the only mathematical operations that can be
applied on variables under this level.

Examples: temperature, intelligence scale, and time on a clock with hands.

LEVEL OF MEASUREMENT: RATIO
The highest level of measurement is the ratio level. The four basic mathematical operations
can be applied in this level of measurement. This level has the true zero point.

Examples: number of siblings, weight, and monthly salary.

Importance of Statistics
Government
 statistics provide basis for decision-making and prioritization projects.

Politics

 politician in public information, election forecasts, and political campaign strategy.

Education

 statistics is used to describe test results that show how students performed during a
particular school year

 Statistics is also used in the academe for researches, studies, and experiments
Importance of Statistics
business and economics

 data from statistical researches enables managers to make decisions for their
market operations including demand, supply, price, and output

health and medicine

 statistical data are important in developing health programs for the people, keeping
tracks of the different diseases, and in developing drug and vaccines

Agriculture

 statistics are used in improving the methods of growing agricultural crops and in the
production of different native products
Importance of Statistics
Sports

 statistical data are used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the
players/teams and used those as a basis for improvement. Data in sports are also
used to predict who will win or loose in a particular game

Everyday life

 for every decision that we are making, for every activity that we are doing, we
always based them on facts and figures