Definition: A statistical question is a question that expects different answers from different individuals, so the answer depends on the variability in the data.
What is a statistical question?
It is a question you cannot answer with a single fixed number, because the data naturally vary. Collecting data is how you answer it.
How do you tell the difference?
Compare these two:
- How tall is Mathbot? One answer, so not statistical.
- How tall are the students in our grade? Many different heights, so it is statistical.
Another pair: What is the sum of 6 and 9? is not statistical. How many hours do sixth graders sleep on school nights? is.
What do you do next?
Plan how to collect data, such as a survey of 30 students, then display it in a dot plot, histogram, or box plot, and describe the center and spread.
Which words are clues?
Look for questions about a group, with plural subjects and variation. Phrases like how many typically, or what is the usual, point to statistics.
What is the common mistake?
Thinking any question with numbers is statistical. If every person would give the same answer, it is not.