"What Can You Infer?" – Making Predictions from Random Samples
This interactive 7th grade statistics worksheet helps students develop a deep understanding of how to make inferences from random samples—a critical concept in data literacy. Through six thoughtfully designed real-world scenarios, students will calculate proportions, means, and ranges from small sample datasets, then use those results to make predictions about larger populations.
Scenarios include
- estimating how many students bring lunch from home
- analyzing average sleep hours
- comparing homework time across two schools
- evaluating how results change when a second sample is added, etc.
Students are also introduced to the idea of evaluating the confidence level of their inferences based on factors such as sample size, variation, and sampling method.
A final reflection activity asks students to review all six scenarios and complete a summary table, reinforcing the importance of choosing the right metric and evaluating the reliability of conclusions.
This worksheet aligns with Common Core standards 7.SP.1 and 7.SP.2, making it an excellent resource for practicing key statistics concepts while also building real-world reasoning and data interpretation skills.
Learning Objective
Students will analyze data from random samples and use statistical measures such as mean, median, range, and proportion to make inferences about larger populations. They will evaluate the reliability of their conclusions based on sample size, variability, and sampling methods.
Randomization Available
If randomization is enabled, each student will receive different sample data values, leading to unique calculations for proportions, means, and totals. This ensures individualized responses and prevents copying while maintaining consistent question structure.
💡 Tip: When assigning this activity to your classroom, you can optionally enable randomization to give each student a unique version of the problems. When you re-assign the same worksheet, each student will get a new set of questions, helping them master the content through repeated practice.
