Connecting the Dots: common misconceptions

If your child says… “Any question with a number answer is statistical.”

Ask together

Does measuring just this spoon require collecting different answers?

What’s true

A statistical question expects variation in the observations collected.

If your child says… “The mean can be bigger than every starting pile.”

Ask together

Are there enough chickpeas to give every bowl more than 6?

What’s true

The mean stays between the smallest and largest starting counts, including those endpoints.

If your child says… “The dash counts as another zero.”

Ask together

Did the player play a match where the dash appears?

What’s true

Here, the dash records no participation, so it adds no match to the count.

If your child says… “The median is halfway between the smallest and largest.”

Ask together

Which slips remain after removing the outer pair?

What’s true

The median uses central positions after sorting, rather than the extreme values.

If your child says… “An unusual length changes the mean and median equally.”

Ask together

Which value occupies the middle after the replacement?

What’s true

Changing an extreme value can change the total while leaving the middle value unchanged.

If your child says… “Each dot still tells me which pencil it came from.”

Ask together

What on a dot identifies the pencil measured first?

What’s true

Without identifying labels, the dots retain lengths and counts but lose each pencil's identity.

If your child says… “A bar twice as long always means twice the amount.”

Ask together

Is 60 twice 40 when B's visible bar is twice as long as A's?

What’s true

Visible lengths give value ratios only on the same linear scale starting at zero.

If your child says… “I'll take halfway between the group means.”

Ask together

Should the group of three pupils count more than the group of two?

What’s true

Combine the groups' totals and counts before dividing.