NAME: ARIANNE RIGSBY

SBA: MATHEMATICS

TITLE: TO INVESTIIGATE WHY THE COLOUR DISTRIBUTION IN 20 PACKS OF

CHOCOLATE M&M's ARE UNEVEN

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………3
METHOD OF DATA COLLECTED………………………………………………………………….4
PRESENTATION OF DATA……….………………………………………….…………..............5
ANALYSIS OF DATA…………………………………………………………………………............7
DISSCUSSION OF FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………....11
CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………....12

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 INTRODUCTION

The topic I chose for my Mathematics School Based Assessment is on colour

distribution. Whenever, I’m eating a pack of M&M’s I realize that there Is always
fewer blue ones than all the other colours in the pack. This makes me wonder
about the quantity of each of the colors. I decided to find out more about this
uneven distribution of M&M’s in different packets. The first thing I plan to do is to
investigate the color distribution on twenty packs of M&M’s. Secondly, using the
sample I have taken with the M&M’s I will determine the mean. Lastly, I will be
representing my data using a line graph, bar chart and pie chart.

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 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTED

 Twenty pack of M&M’S were purchased in different shops and

groceries to obtain different amounts in each pack.

 Each of the packs were opened and poured out into a container.

 The M&M’s were then separated by colour and counted.

 After, the amount was counted they were recorded into a table.

 Then the results obtained were analyzed, calculated and shown in a

pie chart and bar chart.

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 PRESENTATION OF DATA

No. of Red Green Yellow Brown Orange Blue Total

packs
1 15 07 09 12 06 08 57
2 13 12 07 15 07 06 60
3 11 09 12 13 08 09 62
4 07 12 11 08 14 10 62
5 17 06 09 10 15 06 63
6 12 08 11 05 06 13 55
7 14 10 08 13 07 08 60
8 08 12 09 13 10 12 64
9 06 15 14 09 08 06 58
10 13 09 07 12 15 04 60
11 09 10 07 07 12 07 52
12 11 13 12 09 09 09 63
13 13 08 08 11 11 11 62
14 07 11 11 07 08 06 50
15 12 12 09 13 09 09 64
16 08 09 12 11 13 07 60
17 13 11 06 09 06 11 56
18 11 07 12 11 11 12 64
19 09 05 09 05 08 06 42
20 14 07 08 12 06 07 54
Total 223 193 191 205 189 167 1168

Table 1: Number of M&M’s in each pack

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No. of Red Green Yellow Brown Orange Blue
packs
1 26.3% 12.2% 15.7% 21% 10.5% 14%
2 21.6% 20% 11.6% 25% 11.6% 10%
3 17.7% 14.5% 19.3% 20.9% 12.9% 14.5%
4 10.9% 18.7% 17.1% 12.5% 21.8% 15.6%
5 26.9% 9.5% 14.2% 15.8% 23.8% 9.5%
6 21.8% 14.5% 20% 9% 10.9% 23.6%
7 23.3% 16.6% 13.3% 21.6% 11.6% 13.3%
8 12.5% 18.7% 14% 20.3% 15.6% 18.7%
9 10.3% 25.8% 24.1% 15.5% 13.7% 10.3%
10 21.6% 15% 11.6% 20% 25% 6.6%
11 17.3% 19.2% 13.4% 13.4% 23% 13.4%
12 17.4% 20.6% 19% 14.3% 14.3% 14.3%
13 20.9% 12.9% 12.9% 17.7% 17.7% 17.7%
14 14% 22% 22% 14% 16% 12%
15 18.7% 18.7% 14% 20.3% 14% 14%
16 13.3% 15% 20% 18.3% 21.6% 11.6%
17 23.2% 19.6% 10.7% 16% 10.7% 19.6%
18 17.1% 10.9% 18.7% 17.1% 17.1% 18.7%
19 21.4% 11.9% 21.4% 11.9% 19% 14.2%
20 25.9% 12.9% 14.8% 22.2% 11.1% 12.9%

Table 2: Percentage of M&M’s in each pack

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 ANALYSIS OF DATA

The calculations of percentages on each color of M&M’s in total packs.

Total Packs
Percent of red M&M’S 223/1168 x 100/1 = 19%
Percent of green M&M’s 193/1168 x 100/1 = 16.5%
Percent of yellow M&M’s 191/1168 x 100/1 = 16.3%
Percent of brown M&M’s 205/1168 x 100/1 = 17.5%
Percent of orange M&M’s 189/1168 x 100/1 = 16.1%
Percent of blue M&M’s 167/1168 x 100/1 =14.2%

MEAN

Calculation of mean of each color from total packs of M&M’s

Red M&M’s mean = ∑f ÷ n = 223 ÷ 20 = 11.15

Green M&M’s mean = ∑f ÷ n = 193 ÷ 20 = 9.65
Yellow M&M’s mean = ∑f ÷ n = 191 ÷ 20 =9.55
Brown M&M’s mean = ∑f ÷ n = 205 ÷ 20 = 10.25
Orange M&M’s mean = ∑f ÷ n = 189 ÷ 20 = 9.45
Blue M&M’s mean = ∑f ÷ n = 167÷20 = 8.35
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 LINE GRAPH

Line Graph Showing The Amount Of Each Colour Of M&M's In Total

Packs

Red Green Yellow Brown Orange Blue

[Total Packs]] Column1

(X axis- Colours)
(Y axis- Percentages)

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 Bar Chart

Bar Chart Showing The Amount Of Each Colour Of M&M's In Total

Packs

Blue

Orange

Brown

Yellow

Green

Red

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Total packs

(X axis- percentages)
(Y axis- colours)

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 Pie chart

Pie Chart Showing The Amount Of Each Colour Of M&M's

In Total Packs

Red
Green
Yellow
Brown
Orange
Blue

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 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Based on all the data and calculations collected above, shows the
percentages of each colour of M&M’s from the total number of packs.
The colour that had the lowest percentage was blue which was 14.2%.
Actually, out of 1,168 M&M’s blue had a total of only 167 M&M’s which
was the lowest total amount compared to the other colours. The next
lowest percentage was obtained from orange with a percent of only
16.1% in the total number of packs.

For each colour, I also calculated the mean values using all the data
collected. The sample we used has shown us that usually in any
purchased/given pack of M&M’s it would have an average number of
11.15≈ 11 red M&M’s, 9.65 ≈ 10 green, 9.55 ≈ 10 yellow, 10.25 ≈ 10
brown, 9.45 ≈ 9 orange and 8.35 ≈ 8 blue.

The data collected was represented in a line graph, bar chart and pie
chart. Each one demonstrates, the amount of each colour of M&M’s in
the total packs.

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 CONCLUSION

In this SBA, it can be concluded, that the color distribution of M&M’s in

a pack are uneven. In the sample used with the twenty packs of
M&M’s, it is shown that there are fewer blue M&M’s than the other
colors.

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