2.10 Practice 1: center of the data

Student learning outcomes

• The student will calculate and interpret the center, spread, and location of the data.
• The student will construct and interpret histograms an box plots.

Given

Sixty-five randomly selected car salespersons were asked the number of cars they generally sell in one week. Fourteen people answered that they generally sell three cars; nineteen generally sell four cars; twelve generally sell five cars; nine generally sell six cars; eleven generally sell seven cars.

Complete the table

Discussion questions

Enter the data

Enter your data into your calculator or computer.

Construct a histogram

Determine appropriate minimum and maximum x and y values and the scaling. Sketch the histogram below. Label the horizontal and vertical axes with words. Include numerical scaling.

Data statistics

Calculate the following values:

Calculations

Use the table in section 2.11.3 to calculate the following values:

Box plot

Construct a box plot below. Use a ruler to measure and scale accurately.

Interpretation

Looking at your box plot, does it appear that the data are concentrated together, spread out evenly, or concentrated in some areas, but not in others? How can you tell?