Wouldn't it be great if there were a statistics book that made histograms, probability distributions, and chi square analysis more enjoyable than going to the dentist? Head First Statistics brings this typically dry subject to life, teaching you everything you want and need to know about statistics through engaging, interactive, and thought-provoking material, full of puzzles, stories, quizzes, visual aids, and real-world examples.

Whether you're a student, a professional, or just curious about statistical analysis, Head First's brain-friendly formula helps you get a firm grasp of statistics so you can understand key points and actually use them. Learn to present data visually with charts and plots; discover the difference between taking the average with mean, median, and mode, and why it's important; learn how to calculate probability and expectation; and much more.

Head First Statistics is ideal for high school and college students taking statistics and satisfies the requirements for passing the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics Exam. With this book, you'll:

Study the full range of topics covered in first-year statistics
Tackle tough statistical concepts using Head First's dynamic, visually rich format proven to stimulate learning and help you retain knowledge
Explore real-world scenarios, ranging from casino gambling to prescription drug testing, to bring statistical principles to life
Discover how to measure spread, calculate odds through probability, and understand the normal, binomial, geometric, and Poisson distributions
Conduct sampling, use correlation and regression, do hypothesis testing, perform chi square analysis, and more

Before you know it, you'll not only have mastered statistics, you'll also see how they work in the real world. Head First Statistics will help you pass your statistics course, and give you a firm understanding of the subject so you can apply the knowledge throughout your life.

Autorentext

Dawn Griffiths started life as a mathematician at a top UK university. She was awarded a First-Class Honours degree in Mathematics, and was offered a university scholarship to undertake a PhD studying particularly rare breeds of differential equations. She moved away from academia when she realized that people would stop talking to her at parties, and went on to pursue a career in software development instead. She currently combines IT consultancy with writing and mathematics.

When Dawn's not working on Head First books, you'll find her honing her Tai Chi skills, making bobbin lace or cooking nice meals. She hasn't yet mastered the art of doing all three at the same time.

She also enjoys traveling, and spending time with her lovely husband, David.

Zusammenfassung
Helps you get a firm grasp of statistics so you can understand key points and actually use them. This book teaches you to present data visually with charts and plots. It lets you discover the difference between taking the average with mean, median, and mode, and why it's important. It tells how to calculate probability and expectation.

Inhalt

; Advance Praise for Head First Statistics; Praise for other Head First books; Author of Head First Statistics; How to use this Book: Intro; Who is this book for?; We know what you're thinking; We know what your brain is thinking; Metacognition: thinking about thinking; Here's what WE did; Read Me; The technical review team; Acknowledgments; Safari® Books Online; Chapter 1: Visualizing Information: First Impressions; 1.1 Statistics are everywhere; 1.2 But why learn statistics?; 1.3 A tale of two charts; 1.4 Manic Mango needs some charts; 1.5 The humble pie chart; 1.6 Chart failure; 1.7 Bar charts can allow for more accuracy; 1.8 Vertical bar charts; 1.9 Horizontal bar charts; 1.10 It's a matter of scale; 1.11 Using frequency scales; 1.12 Dealing with multiple sets of data; 1.13 Your bar charts rock; 1.14 Categories vs. numbers; 1.15 Dealing with grouped data; 1.16 To make a histogram, start by finding bar widths; 1.17 Manic Mango needs another chart; 1.18 Make the area of histogram bars proportional to frequency; 1.19 Step 1: Find the bar widths; 1.20 Step 2: Find the bar heights; 1.21 Step 3: Draw your chart-a histogram; 1.22 Histograms can't do everything; 1.23 Introducing cumulative frequency; 1.24 Drawing the cumulative frequency graph; 1.25 Choosing the right chart; 1.26 Manic Mango conquered the games market!; Chapter 2: Measuring Central Tendency: The Middle Way; 2.1 Welcome to the Health Club; 2.2 A common measure of average is the mean; 2.3 Mean math; 2.4 Dealing with unknowns; 2.5 Back to the mean; 2.6 Handling frequencies; 2.7 Back to the Health Club; 2.8 Everybody was Kung Fu fighting; 2.9 Our data has outliers; 2.10 The butler outliers did it; 2.11 Watercooler conversation; 2.12 Finding the median; 2.13 Business is booming; 2.14 The Little Ducklings swimming class; 2.15 Frequency Magnets; 2.16 Frequency Magnets; 2.17 What went wrong with the mean and median?; 2.18 Introducing the mode; 2.19 Congratulations!; Chapter 3: Measuring Variability and Spread: Power Ranges; 3.1 Wanted: one player; 3.2 We need to compare player scores; 3.3 Use the range to differentiate between data sets; 3.4 The problem with outliers; 3.5 We need to get away from outliers; 3.6 Quartiles come to the rescue; 3.7 The interquartile range excludes outliers; 3.8 Quartile anatomy; 3.9 We're not just limited to quartiles; 3.10 So what are percentiles?; 3.11 Box and whisker plots let you visualize ranges; 3.12 Variability is more than just spread; 3.13 Calculating average distances; 3.14 We can calculate variation with the variance...; 3.15 ...but standard deviation is a more intuitive measure; 3.16 A quicker calculation for variance; 3.17 What if we need a baseline for comparison?; 3.18 Use standard scores to compare values across data sets; 3.19 Interpreting standard scores; 3.20 Statsville All Stars win the league!; Chapter 4: Calculating Probabilities: Taking Chances; 4.1 Fat Dan's Grand Slam; 4.2 Roll up for roulette!; 4.3 Your very own roulette board; 4.4 Place your bets now!; 4.5 What are the chances?; 4.6 Find roulette probabilities; 4.7 You can visualize probabilities with a Venn diagram; 4.8 It's time to play!; 4.9 And the winning number is...; 4.10 Let's bet on an even more likely event; 4.11 You can also add probabilities; 4.12 You win!; 4.13 Time for another bet; 4.14 Exclusive events and intersecting events; 4.15 Problems at the intersection; 4.16 Some more notation; 4.17 Another unlucky spin...; 4.18 ...but it's time for another bet; 4.19 Conditions apply; 4.20 Find conditional probabilities; 4.21 You can visualize conditional probabilities with a probability tree; 4.22 Trees also help you calculate conditional probabilities; 4.23 Bad luck!; 4.24 We can find P(Black l Even) using the probabilities we already have; 4.25 Step 1: Finding P(Black n Even); 4.26 So where does this get us?; 4.27 Step 2: Finding P(Even); 4.28 Step 3: Finding P(Black l Even); 4.29 These results can be generalized to other problems; 4.30 Use the Law of Total Probability to find P(B); 4.31 Introducing Bayes' Theorem; 4.32 We have a winner!; 4.33 It's time for one last bet; 4.34 If events affect each other, they are dependent; 4.35 If events do not affect each other, they are independent; 4.36 More on calculating probability for independent events; 4.37 Winner! Winner!; Chapter 5: Using Discrete Probability Distributions: Manage Your Expectations; 5.1 Back at Fat Dan's Casino; 5.2 We can compose a probability distribution for the slot machine; 5.3 Expectation gives you a prediction of the results...; 5.4 ... and variance tells you about the spread of the results; 5.5 Variances and probability distributions; 5.6 Let's calculate the slot machine's variance; 5.7 Fat Dan changed his prices; 5.8 There's a linear relationship between E…