Matchbox Machine

Students discover how to construct and interpret box plots to assess a quality assurance process for matchboxes. They learn to use boxplots to identify if the process is working correctly. This series has the same format as Rice crisp machine, however uses a different context and a larger range of numbers.

Teacher notes

• Students use data displayed in a dynamic sortable table to work out the five-point summary required for a boxplot: maximum, minimum, first and third quartiles and median.
• Once the student has constructed a boxplot, they interpret the boxplot according to tolerance levels in the quality control manual.

Learning objects

	Matchbox machine: take a sample The student observes a sample of matchboxes being taken, builds a single boxplot and answers a quiz to show understanding.
	Matchbox machine: plot the variation The student observes a sample of matchboxes being taken, builds a single boxplot and answers a quiz to show understanding. A further nine samples are taken and the student builds a series of boxplots for these and answers an additional quiz.
	Matchbox machine This is an aggregated learning unit combining 'Matchbox machine: take a sample' and 'Matchbox machine: plot the variation'.