In this activity students are set the challenge of finding missing values such that the mean and variance of a Poisson distribution, a Binomial distribution and a normal distribution makes sense. The solution sheet contains three possible solutions.

This resource is part of the Making Stats Vital collection...

In this activity, students are posed the problem of how a coffee machine should be adjusted to meet certain criteria by either adjusting the mean value of the coffee produced or adjusting the standard deviation. The presentation ends showing the solution to the problem.

This resource is part of the Making...

There has been a great deal of research into footedness in football. However, careful observations of what players do on the pitch reveal that the elite football heroes are much more one-footed than it was previously assumed. David Carey of Bangor University looks into the issue.

The article is from Catalyst...

This Catalyst article details how the genome of a plant called Arabidopsis has been unravelled so that this species can act as a model in genetic studies. Arabidopsis thaliana is a model species like the fruit fly Drosophila, yeast, and the bacterium Escherichia coli.  Scientists...

Carom Maths provides this resource for teachers and students of A Level mathematics.

In this activity the equations of the lines, which are formed at the points of intersection of three circles, are explored and an Autograph file is used to show what happens when the equations of the circles are added...

This Catalyst article looks at sexual selection, a form of natural selection, and the role it plays in the evolution of many organisms. The article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2014, Volume 24, Issue 4.

Catalyst is a science...

The workbook contains a number of simulations designed to aid students understanding of the Poisson distribution.

[b]Queuing simulation:[/b] is designed to introduce the Poisson distribution through a realistic application, that of simulating a supermarket checkout queue. Students choose the number of people...

In this resource, students consider whether two Poisson distributions can be added together to form a third Poisson distribution. The initial, discussion generating proposition is backed up by a proof. The resource also contains an accompanying spreadsheet on which students can run simulations to test the result....

In this resource, students are asked to consider data set in which the value of the mean is very close to the value of the variance. The aim of the resource is for students to understand that whilst mean being equal to variance indicates that the distribution may be a Poisson distribution that this not true in all...

This resource comprises a spreadsheet which models raindrops falling onto paving slabs. As the variables are adjusted associated graphs display both the experimental and theoretical results. The resource is designed to encourage discussion of how a binomial distribution can be approximated by a Poisson distribution...

In this activity, students are presented with a case in which the calculate probability is calculated using the Binomial and then the Poisson distribution. Each method produces results close to each other. Students are set the task of finding the value for n used. Subsequent slides reveal the solution.

This...

This Unilever Laboratory Experiment describes the preparation of soap from a mixture of cooking oil and dripping. The leaflet was first published in 1964 and so lacks modern safety guidance. The procedure is authentic; it is designed to produce a convincing sample of soap. This means that it could be the basis of...

The method of preparation of a sulphonate paste described in this Unilever Laboratory Experiment is basically the same as that used by Unilever in the large-scale production of soapless detergents at the time of publication in 1964. The required reactants included an alkylbenzene hydrocarbon supplied by the...

This Catalyst article looks at the production of rice, which is a staple food for billions of people. It describes how crop scientists have identified varieties of rice with favourable characteristics, such as flood resistance, and are using them to develop crops with increased yield. Such crops may help to...

This edition of the Computing at School newsletter focuses on teaching computing in primary schools, and contains articles covering:

*Pedagogy of computing in primary schools

*National curriculum programme of study

*Game design in the primary classroom

*Primary – secondary transition...