Using Pooled Data and Data Visualization To Introduce Statistical Concepts in the General Chemistry Laboratory.

• Autores: Robert J. Olsen
• Localización: Journal of chemical education, ISSN 0021-9584, Vol. 85, Nº 4, 2008, págs. 544-545
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • I describe how data pooling and data visualization can be employed in the first-semester general chemistry laboratory to introduce core statistical concepts such as central tendency and dispersion of a data set. The pooled data are plotted as a 1-D scatterplot, a purpose-designed number line through which statistical features of the data are encoded by choice of plotting symbols and inclusion of reference lines. The approach is illustrated for an experiment in which the empirical formula of magnesium oxide is determined; it is readily adapted to other experiments generating univariate data by appropriate customization of the scatterplot. Prior to pooling the class data, each student uses the customized number line to identify the empirical formula that agrees most closely with his or her individual data, thus minimizing confusion over the extent to which an experimentally determined mole ratio can be rounded when finding an empirical formula. Because of their familiarity with number lines and innate abilities for pattern recognition, students are led to develop an intuitive understanding of the statistical concepts illustrated by the scatterplot.