Toy Dinosaur Cars Lead to Discovery in AP Statistics Class

Using the 'Experience First, Formalize Later' approach to learning, Laura Kirschenbaum's AP Statistics students were tasked with determining which of several models does a better job of describing the relationship between toy dinosaur pull-back cars and distance traveled. 

Using tools developed throughout their unit on linear regression modeling and data re-expression, students chose the best model to make a prediction as to how far they would have to pull back their dino-car to reach 250 cm without going over. 

Motivated by winning medals, students engaged in hearty debates with their teammates before putting their plans into action. The winning team, Brandon Mandel '22 and Tyler Zakhary '22, were only 16 cm away from the finish line with their stegosaurus car, appropriately named "Steggy."