Math 100 Ideas in 100 Words

g CONTENTS

Probability and Statistics

Applied mathematics takes many different forms, but we almost always encounter the problem of determining how well the mathematical models compare with the real world. To find out about this comparison we have to collect data from the real world, and then process and analyse that data. Statistics, as the label for this process, deserves a chapter to itself.

Originating in the study of populations, statistics allows us to study small samples and make inferences from them about the whole group. These techniques and tools can also use raw data to draw conclusions about the past or present, and make predictions about the future, and are becoming increasingly important in the modern world, where vast amounts ...