On Friday, students in Julie Coyne’s AP Statistics class participated in an experiment where they made paper helicopters and dropped them from the top of the swimming pool balcony to test the effects of different rotor lengths on flight time.
“We are conducting an experiment on whether helicopters with short or long rotors take more time to fall. This relates to our sample [difference in] mean test which we did over the year. [Ot was to] accurately check whether our alternate hypothesis that long rotor helicopters take longer to fall than short rotor ones was true or not,” senior Rupesh Vats said.
The activity was informational and required practice of prior learning concepts, but also was a way for students to appreciate the beauty associated with statistics.
“I liked it the first time when we saw these papers fall with grace. I like that we were able to form a hypothesis and then prove that it was correct. I enjoy seeing how you can actively apply statistics to find out if your assumptions are correct in real life scenarios,” senior Evelynn Ridlen said.
All but a few students that participated in the activity were seniors, so this experiment posed as one final fun assignment before they graduate.
“It gives us a chance as seniors, since it is our last week, to do something fun and interactive with the class and get us reacquainted with the beginning material. It’s really nice, with this final stretch, getting up and doing something fun with friends we may not see for a while depending on where we go after high school,” senior Sam Beresford said.
With the school year coming to an end and the AP test in the rear view mirror, the lessons students have learned in the class have real-life ramifications in the future, making the class impactful in their lives.
“In the future, instead of just making assumptions I am going to know how to test them. I will apply the knowledge of test statistics that I have discovered to be able to come to conclusions on my own. I will continue to practice applying my knowledge whenever I am curious about a comparison in the future,” Ridlen said.
