4.16.

2015
Math 1040 Skittles Project
For this project, each student in the class recorded data about their
own 2.17 ounce bag of Original Skittles. They counted the number of red, orange,
yellow, green, and purple candies, as well as the total amount of candies in the bag.
All the data from the class compiled, including the total number of candies, bags,
and the individual results of each bag.

Total Nuber of Candies of Each Color

260

266

231

274

296
Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Purple

Total Percent of Candies per Color

0.25

0.22

0.21

0.2

0.2

0.2
0.17

0.15

Percent
0.1
0.05
0

Yellow

Orange

Red

Purple

Green

Number of Candies per Color for my Bag

7
16
9

12
Orange

13
Purple

Red

Green

Yellow

Percent of Candies per Color for my Bag

0.3

0.28

0.25

0.23

0.21

0.2
0.16

Percent 0.15

0.12

0.1
0.05
0

Orange

Purple

Red

Green

Yellow

These charts show what is expected: relatively the same amount of candies
in each color. The amounts differ slightly, but the greatest difference is less than
5%. These results differ greatly from the data from my personal bag of Skittles. My
bag had less yellow and green candies and more orange candies than was
expected. There is a great difference between the amount of orange and yellow
Skittles in my own bag.
The box plot and histogram below reflect the expected distribution of the
number of candies per bag. It is a fairly normal distribution excluding the outliers. It
shows that, for the most part, the number of candies per bag is between 57 and 64.

This data agrees with my own bags data. My bag is on the lower end of the bell
curve, yet still near enough to the others to be an expected value.

Total Number of Candies per Bag

65
62
59

Number of Candies 56
53
50
47

Total Number of Candies per Bag

8
7
6
5
4
Frequency
3
2
1
0

Mean Number of Candies per bag: 60.3

Standard Deviation: 2.97
Five Number Summary
Minimum: 49
Q1: 60
Median: 61
Q3: 62
Maximum: 64
Number of Candies in my bag: 57

Frequency

Total Number of bags: 22

Quantitative data consists of numbers representing measurements. It is data
that is countable, and makes sense when used in mathematical operations.
Qualitative (or categorical) data consist of label that dont represent counts. For
example, names, colors, and even zip codes are qualitative data. Some graphs and
charts can only be used for one type of data. Stem and Leaf Plots, Histograms, Dot
plots, and Time-Series Graphs are some examples of charts that only use
quantitative data. They would not make sense if used with qualitative data because
they have to show the numerical values. On the other hand, Bar Graphs, Pareto
Charts, and Pie Charts all have to use qualitative data sets to show the different
categories. Qualitative and quantitative data can only be applied to certain
calculations as well. Quantitative data can be used in most calculations, but
qualitative data only has a few that actually work. For example, you can find every
measure of center with a set of quantitative data, but only the mode is applicable to
qualitative data.