Tootsie Pop Lab

Created Jan. 24, 2024 by Deb Crawford

Tootsie Pop Lab

Google Doc Version

AFDA.7        The student will analyze the normal distribution to:

b) interpret and compare z-scores for normally distributed data; and

c) apply properties of normal distributions to determine probabilities associated with areas under the standard normal curve.

Key concepts include

percentiles;

normalizing data, using z-scores; and

area under the standard normal curve and probability.

Question: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie pop?  The world may never know….. until now!

Tootsie Roll Industries is aware of three scientific studies that have been conducted to determine how many licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop.

  • A group of engineering students from Purdue University recorded that a licking machine, modeled after a human tongue, took an average of 364 licks to get to the center.  They tried the same licking test on 20 volunteers, and found that the average licks to the center were 252.
  • A chemical engineering doctorate student at the University of Michigan recorded that his licking machine required an average of 411 licks.
  • A group of students at Swarthmore School did an in-school experiment using humans, and determined that it took an average of 144 licks to get to the center.

Materials:  Tootsie Pops, lab paper.

Prediction:

1.        How many licks do you think that it will take to get to the chocolate center of the pop without crunching it or putting the pop completely in your mouth?

Procedure:

          

2.   However you choose to lick your tootsie pop, stay consistent, and use the same method throughout the experiment.

3.        For this experiment a lick will be defined as one contact of the tongue on the surface of the pop.         

4.  Observe your tootsie pop; make a note of any anomalies, such as if it is cracked or has pieces missing from it.

5. Tally the number of licks it takes to have one side of the chocolate center completely revealed.  

Data Collection:        

       Number of licks = ___________

6.        Now record the number of licks from each class member.

 

113
214
315
416
517
618
719
820
921
1022
1123
1224

Data Analysis:

7. Make a histogram of the number of licks.  Are there any outliers?  How many modes? 

8. State the mean, median, mode, range, and 5 number summary of the number of licks.



9.Display class data in a box and whisker plot.

10. Find the standard deviation of the data.  

 

      11. What is your z – score ?   (show work!)

12. What does your z – score tell you about in the context of the problem?

For #13 – 15, assume the data set is normal.

    13. What percent should fit between the first standard deviations?  


   What percent of the data actually fits within the first standard deviation?





14. What percentage of the data should fit between the first 2 standard                 deviations?  

         

                        

            What percentage actually fits between the first 2 standard deviations?

        

        

       15. What percentage of the data should fit between the first 3 standard deviations?

          What percentage actually fits between the first 3 standard deviations?

      16. What percentile does your data point fall under?


      17. What is the highest z-score in the class?    What does it mean?



      18. What is the lowest z-score in the class?   What does it mean?                

Return to top