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4Lesson 1.1 Statistics: The Science and Art%u00a0of Data L E A R N I N G TA R G E T S %u2022 Identify the individuals and variables in a data set, then classify the variables as categorical or quantitative. %u2022 Summarize the distribution of a variable with a frequency table or a relative frequency table. We live in a world of data. Every day, the media report poll results, outcomes of medical studies, and analyses of data on everything from the economy to the weather to technology use. The data are trying to tell us a story. To understand what the data are saying, you need to learn more about statistics . DEFINITION Statistics Statistics is the science and art of collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from%u00a0data. A solid understanding of statistics will help you make informed decisions based on data in your daily life. Smelling Parkinson%u2019s This activity will give you a sense of what statistics is about: drawing conclusions from data. 2 Joy Milne of Perth, United Kingdom, smelled a %u201csubtle musky odor%u201d on her husband Les that she had never encountered before. At first, Joy thought the smell might be from Les%u2019s sweat after long hours of work. But when Les was diagnosed with Parkinson%u2019s disease 6 years later, Joy suspected the odor might be a result of the disease. Scientists were intrigued by Joy%u2019s claim and designed an experiment to test her ability to %u201csmell Parkinson%u2019s.%u201d Joy was presented with 12 shirts, each worn by a different person, some of whom had Parkinson%u2019s disease and some of whom did not. The shirts were given to Joy%u00a0in a random order, and she had to decide whether or not each shirt was worn by a person with Parkinson%u2019s disease. Joy identified 11 of the 12 shirts correctly. Although the researchers wanted to believe that Joy could detect Parkinson%u2019s disease by smell, it is possible that she was just a lucky guesser. You and your classmates will perform a simulation with cards (or using the Can You Smell Parkinson%u2019s? applet at stapplet.com ) to determine which explanation is more believable. Here are the directions for the simulation with cards. ACTIVITYchris watt/Alamy Stock Photo%u00a9 Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Do not distribute.