Class 8 Coke vs. Pepsi: Designing an experiment.

Handout


"Why polls are so 'scientific' and so confusing". The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Feb. 1996.


Coke vs. Pepsi: Designing an experiment

Identify a member of your group who claims to be able to tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke. (Coke Classic, that is; accept no substitutes!) Design and carry out an experiment to test whether this is true. Remember that one swallow doth not a summer make: Don't certify your taste-tester just on the basis of one taste. Write down exactly what data you will collect and what you will do with the data before you start collecting it.

Journal Assignment

Read the article "Why polls are so 'scientific' and so confusing".

Here was the report of the final Globe poll:

The Globe poll shows the race is as tight as ever, with Buchanan edging into the lead for the first time at 24 percent, Dole at 23 percent and Alexander at 21 percent. The rest of the field was well behind: Forbes, 13 percent; Lugar, 5 percent; Keyes, 4 percent; Taylor, 1 percent and Dornan with less than 1 percent. Only 5 percent now said they were undecided. The polling sample of almost 700 voters has a margin of error of 4 percent.

The final vote was:
Buchanan          28%

Dole              27%

Alexander         23%

Forbes            12%

Lugar              5%

Keyes              1%

Taylor             1%

Others             3%