M&M’s Spreadsheet



M&M’s Spreadsheet

Name:_____________________________________ Period:__________

You will be working in small groups. You are going to conduct some market research about M&M’s. You will begin by stating a hypothesis – making a prediction about color distribution and quantity. Then, you will sort and classify the contents of a bag of M&M’s, summarize your findings on a worksheet created in Excel, convert the numbers into charts, and finally summarize your findings.

Step 1: Stating your hypothesis.

Software: Word

You will make predictions about the contents of your bag before we open them and count them.

Answer the following questions on a blank Word document. Save the document as hypothesis.

Put the title “Hypothesis” at the top of your paper along with your name and period #.

1. Do you think all bags will have the same number of m&ms? Why or why not?

2. Do you think one color of M&Ms will be more popular? Why or why not?

3. Will the color distribution in all bags be the same? Why or why not?

Save as “Hypothesis” in your M&Ms Project folder on your “h” drive.

Step 2: Sort your bag of M&Ms by color.

Fill in the numbers for each color below.

|Color |Number |

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Step 3: Create a Worksheet

Software: Excel

What to do:

Create an Excel spreadsheet with the data you have gathered

1. Open a worksheet in Excel. In cell A1, type the title M&M Facts and Findings

2. In row 3, beginning in cell A3, type the following headings:

▪ Colors

▪ Bag 1

▪ Bag 2

▪ Bag 3

▪ Bag 4

▪ Average

The number of bags will be determined by the number of people in your group.

3. Type in the weight of your bag of M&M’s in a comment. Right click on the cell where you want the comment and choose “Insert Comment”. A yellow box will appear. Delete what is in the yellow box that appears and type the weight of your bag in its place.

4. In column A, beginning in cell A4, list all of the colors of M&M’s you found in your bags.

5. Sort the list alphabetically: Highlight the cells containing the names of the colors (A4 – A9). From the Editing menu in the Home tab, choose Sort. Choose from A to Z. When prompted to expand your selection, choose to continue with current selection.

6. Format your spreadsheet to include color – you can change the color of your font, the shading or both.

Save as “Spreadsheet” in your M&Ms project folder.

Step 4: Add Formulas and Interpret Data

Software: Excel and Word

What to do:

1. Enter the number of same-color M&M’s in the corresponding cells, beginning with bag 1. Write a formula to total all of your columns. Remember, you can use the “fill right” option from the edit menu to apply your formula to all the columns.

2. Now you can automatically calculate the average number of each color per bag. You should already have a column headed “Average”. Beginning in row 4 of that column, type the formula for average: =average(B4:E4) E4 represents the last column where data was entered. If your last column isn’t E, then substitute the E with the correct letter. Once again, remember to use the “fill down” option from the Editing menu to apply the formula to all of the cells in this column where you will calculate average.

3. In the Average column, format cells so that a whole number (that is, no decimal places) is returned. Highlight your Average column. Go to Number on the menu bar on the Home tab and click on the arrow so that a window opens.. When the window opens, make sure you are on the Number tab. Under Category choose Number. To the right you will see an option for determining the number of decimal places – set that to 0.

Press “Ctrl” + “s” to save.

4. Interpret your data (Use Word). Are some colors more numerous? Do all bags have the same number of candies? Compare your observations with the findings of another group. Are the same colors more numerous from one group to another? Summarize this as a paragraph in a Word document. Title it as “Data Summary”. Save it to your M&Ms folder in your “h” drive. Do not print.

Step 5: Create Graphs

Software: Excel

What to do:

1. You will use your data to create two different types of charts displaying two different sets of data..

2. Choose the chart types that best represent the data, such as bar chart or column chart. You might chart the distribution of colors in a single bag or the total number of candies for all bags in your sample.

3. Highlight the appropriate cells in your spreadsheet to represent the data you will graph. Choose your chart. Make sure you title your graph and label your axes to reflect the data presented. Your title should tell us exactly what we are looking at when we look at your graph.

4. Format your chart by experimenting with gridline options and color, shadowing, etc.

5. Make this chart its own sheet – do not embed it into the spreadsheet.

Press “Ctrl” + “s” to save.

Step 6: Writing the report

Software: Word

What to do: Analyze your data and use Word to write up your report.

In your report, write the following paragraphs:

1. Describe:

➢ The research project & the procedure you used to sort and count candies.

2. Compare your initial hypothesis about the average number of candies per bag (from step 1) and the expected color distribution with actual survey results. Copy and paste a chart onto your Word document where appropriate. You must include at least one graph/chart.

3. Summarize by telling what the whole class found. Were there any similarities between groups? Did the same color show popularity? Were the numbers in every bag close or similar? Was there any similarity in distribution?

Save as “Summary” in your M&M’s Project folder on your “h” drive.

Turn in the following: Your rubric (on top – be sure your name is on it), your hypothesis, your data summary and your final summary. Everything else I will check on the computer.

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