Supply and demand
A heatwave hits Lahore. Predict the new price of air coolers.
Why bigger samples are steadier
Drag the sample size and watch average travel times settle.
Try it
Takes about 1 minute.
The problem
Students memorise "bigger samples are better" without seeing why.
Who it's for
Statistics and research methods courses, across subjects
Before and after
See how we make a difference
Before
As it usually is
- A formula for the standard error.
- A worked example with numbers to copy.
After
Redesigned
- Change 1: Students drag the sample size themselves.
- Change 2: Each dot is one sample's average travel time to campus, so the spread is visible.
- Change 3: The spread figure updates as they move.
- Reason for change 1: Students see it happen instead of taking it on trust.
- Reason for change 2: A familiar example, the daily trip to campus, makes the numbers mean something.
- Reason for change 3: Moving the slider invites them to test their own guesses.
In person
Using this in a workshop
In class, students guess how wide the spread will be for 50 students, then test it. Afterwards, they collect their own small sample of travel times and compare.
How we'd build this for you
Watch an idea happen, not just the formula
This activity is one example of a pattern that works in almost any subject. Here's how the same idea could look in yours.
- PsychologyRun a small experiment many times and see why one result can mislead.
- MedicineChange a test's accuracy and see how many false alarms a screening programme gives.
- Quality controlSample products from a line and see when a fault would be caught.
- Market researchChange the size of a survey and see how often it gets the answer wrong.
- AgricultureMeasure yield in random plots and see how close the estimate gets.
We build it with your subject experts and your own examples, for your workshops and your learning platform. Every piece works on phones, by keyboard and with screen readers.
Free to use
Use it in your teaching
Add this activity to your own course or training, free, with credit to ApexID.
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Portfolio projects made by ApexID to show the kinds of interactive learning we build. Not client projects.