M&M Sampling Techniques for AICE and AP Psychology Research Methods

This M&M sampling activity allows students to compare the concepts research methods used in psychology, including the difference between a population and a sample. What happens as the sample size grows?

This activity works best when you can provide students with a handful of M&Ms or a fun size bag of M&Ms. If you cannot provide this to your students, links free online M&M simulators are also included.

Students will investigate how sample size impacts their research. Students start with a small sample size, their individual bag of M&Ms. Then, they gather information from classmates about their M&Ms. Lastly, students compare their class data with the overall population of all M&Ms produced. Students keep track of their data using a customized spreadsheet worksheet to use with this activity. Follow up questions are also provided.

Your purchase includes a Google Slides presentation to guide the class through the activity and a digital Google Sheets worksheet for students to enter their data and answer reflection questions. The spreadsheet calculates the data analysis for students to simplify the activity and save class time.