Purpose of Statistics - JSS1 Mathematics Lesson Note

Statistics is the science of collecting, analyzing, interpreting, presenting, and organizing data to make informed decisions and draw meaningful conclusions. Statistics serves several purposes in various fields, including:

Describing Data: Statistics helps to summarize and describe large amounts of data in a meaningful way. For example, it can summarize the average income of a population or the spread of a disease.

Making Inferences: It allows us to draw conclusions or make predictions about a larger group based on a smaller sample. For instance, polling data from a sample of voters can be used to infer the preferences of the entire voting population.

Testing Hypotheses: Statistics provides tools to test whether observed differences or relationships in data are likely to be real or if they could have occurred by chance.

Making Decisions: Businesses use statistics to make informed decisions, such as determining pricing strategies based on market trends or forecasting demand for products.

Quality Control: In manufacturing, statistics are used to monitor and control the quality of products, ensuring consistency and reliability.