Before You Took This Course, You Probably Heard Many Stories

question 85

Essay

Before you took this course, you probably heard many stories about Statistics courses. Oftentimes parents of students have
had bad experiences with Statistics courses and pass on their anxieties to their children. To test whether actually taking
Statistics decreases students' anxieties about Statistics, a Statistics instructor gave a test to rate student anxiety at the
beginning and end of his course. Anxiety levels were measured on a scale of 0-10. Here are the data for 16 randomly chosen
students from a class of 180 students: $$\begin{array} { | l | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | c | } \hline \text { Pre-course anxiety level } & 7 & 6 & 9 & 5 & 6 & 7 & 5 & 7 & 6 & 4 & 3 & 2 & 1 & 3 & 4 & 2 \\\hline \text { Post-course anxiety level } & 4 & 3 & 7 & 3 & 4 & 5 & 4 & 6 & 5 & 3 & 2 & 2 & 1 & 3 & 4 & 3 \\\hline \text { Difference (Post - Pre) } & - 3 & - 3 & - 2 & - 2 & - 2 & - 2 & - 1 & - 1 & - 1 & - 1 & - 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \\\hline\end{array}$$
-Do the data indicate that anxiety levels about Statistics decreases after students take
Statistics? Test an appropriate hypothesis and state your conclusion.

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Definitions:

Transitional Expression

Transitional expressions are words or phrases used to connect ideas together within and between sentences, enhancing the flow of writing.

Black Bass

A common term referring to several species of North American freshwater fish in the sunfish family.

Striped Bass

A popular game fish known for its distinctive dark stripes running along its body, commonly found in both freshwater and saltwater environments.

Contrast Paragraph

A section in writing that highlights differences between two or more subjects, ideas, or objects.