Measurements and Statistics

In biology, we often need to compare numbers from one experiment or set of observations to another. This is a simple exercise for you to determine how this might be applied to measurements on the reproductive tracts you dissected. Next week you will do a statistical test to see if measurement in the different lab sections differ statistically.

13. Measure the length of the uterus from the cervix to the utero-tubal junction in cm and record on the white board in class (this is for the live lab sections only). Do this as directed by your TA. Be sure you follow the path a sperm would take. Next determine the average of the class, some measure of the variability and N or the number of tracts measured in your lab section within a species. Various statistics can be used to describe that variability but we wish you to use one that will be useful to determine if there is an outlier among the measurements within a lab section.  Search among your classmates that have taken a statistics class, what variablility statistic should be used?
    
    If you are in the online lab, use the data below, do the same activity for the each of the 2 lab sections and species shown (you have 4 sets of data). Next search the web to figure out what variability statistic you should use might be. Send the information you generate to Dr. Parrish via email <jjparris@wisc.edu>. He will use this for the online lab next week.

Below are measurements (cm) made in 2019 that may be of use if you do not have some specific tracts to measure in a particular year.